An Angel of Darkness, a Maiden of Love
by SailorCybertron
Summary: Myotismon has lost his parents, been shunned by his fellow Digimon, and driven into a dangerous state of rage and hatred...all because of what he is: a vampire. One human girl has evidently taken a liking to him, doing what no one else dared...but can Myotismon possibly trust her? Or will she suffer his wrath as well?
1. Prologue

Welcome to an alternate universe where worlds collide, telepathic bonds are forged by love for some mysterious reason, and the Autobots are revered as gods. Just suppose there were 10 DigiDestined instead of 8, and that their goal was to promote peace and harmony between the human and Digital worlds. Hopefully this story can also raise awareness of why we must NEVER judge someone for being different or seeming weird in some way. And just so you know, there will be a sequel. Now then...shall be begin?

 **Prologue**

The young Digimon arose from his slumber at the fall of night. When the moon rose, so did he...to bask in the darkness of night...to smile at the welcoming of the creatures of the night...and to terrify and feed upon the blood of the living. Yet so beautiful was he, so seductive, so intelligent, so charming...that he could not be resisted. His pale blue skin seemed to shimmer in the moonlight, his hair was of gold, his lips lavender, and his eyes glistened and gleamed like two blue orbs of crystal. His name...was Myotismon.

Beautiful, intelligent and charming as he was, Myotismon was feared by all...humans and Digimon alike...and sadly, feared to the point of hatred and rejection.

His troubles had began at the very early age of three, when he was was but a Bakemon. Being vampires themselves, his father, GranDracmon, and mother, Lilith, were also pursued by those who gave into their fear and hatred. They were traveling to find a safe place to stay, but the Locomon they were riding was attacked by hunters! In the terrible chaos, the little Digimon was separated from his dear parents and forced to wander about the Digital World. He had no idea of what to do or who to turn to for help!

It seemed that fortune smiled on him when shortly after his painful loss, a kind Imperialdramon found him and brought him to the capital of the Digital World, File City. There the little Digimon was raised at a special training school for Digimon...and it was here that he managed to Digivolve earlier than anyone had expected! Mentors also discovered that the young Digimon had a very high IQ and was very eager to learn things!

But this happiness did not last, for after his evolution, there were many students who took a disliking to him. "What chance do you have at living a normal life?" a Biyomon asked one time, "You're a VAMPIRE, for crying out loud!" Then the little bird and his friends proceeded to laugh in a mocking way. "SILENCE!" snapped Imperialdramon, "I will have NONE of that in MY academy!" This was not the first time he had done so. There had been several times when Imperialdramon would catch his students putting Myotismon down, and he would get very angry. Despite his scoldings and punishments, however...the message never really seemed to sink in to the brains of Myotismon's tormentors.

* * *

"My boy..." Imperialdramon once said, "Please...do not listen to those brats. I cannot understand their immaturity. Every Digimon is unique in some way...you included. You must seek and pursue whatever it is you would like to do...and let NO ONE tell you otherwise." Little Myotismon smiled. "Thanks, teacher. I WILL do that! And as a matter of fact...I DO have an idea of what I'd like to do!"

The young Digimon began to save what money he could. And when he reached the age of 500, he took all that he had saved and told his mentor that he was going to Atlantis in the human world. "They have an amazing university there. It sounds like a WONDERFUL place to put my intelligence to the test!" he explained. "Why, that sounds fantastic, my boy!" Imperialdramon exclaimed, "And you ARE a very intelligent Digimon. I'm sure it will be a great learning experience for you! Go forth and have a good time!"

* * *

So, disguised as a human and under the name of Michael Jefferson, Myotismon was able to get into the University of Atlantis. For four years, he put his eagerness to learn at work, studying grammar, theater, singing, and even culinary arts. But when the time came for graduation, Myotismon claimed that no, he did not wish to do so yet. "Normally, students may absolutely loathe the hard work, long study hours, and homework." he explained, "But as for me...I've always had such a fondness for learning. I cannot explain why. But...well...I have it. So I would simply like to stay a while longer and...learn about a few more things." So another four years went by, with studies of technology, drama, science, and medicine.

The amazing thing was that Myotismon always got the best grades among all his fellow students. Some were rather jealous, but others were amazed. When graduation rolled around again, Myotismon was ready this time. At the ceremony, along with all the degrees he'd earned, he was given a certificate for students on Honor Roll. "If I could, I would say how much of a treat it has been to be able to learn here." Myotismon declared, "Unfortunately, I cannot find words to express it. But I can indeed say that I thank those who took me in here and have mentored me...and it is my hope that there will be others who have amazed you as I have."

But amid the applause, there was spite. A few jealous students had sneaked in the means to play a cruel trick on Myotismon. And suddenly, before he knew what was happening, his rivals each pulled out a pail of water and threw it at him! Rather than laughs, however, shocked cries came up from the audience as Myotismon coughed and sputtered.

Then shock was changed to sheer terror. The blow of the water had been so strong, it had washed off the flesh-colored make-up which Myotismon wore. And in his confusion, he had accidentally spat out the fake human teeth which he wore. Now everyone could clearly see pale blue skin and sharp, white fangs! "Hey! That's no human! That's a vampire!" one of the deans cried out! Screams filled the auditorium as everyone raced like mad to get out...leaving Myotismon standing there, stunned...and all alone. It was eerily still with the terrible quiet of loneliness, something Myotismon had not known for a time. But now, it had come back. Sadly, Myotismon gathered up his degrees and award...and headed back to the Digital World.

* * *

Alone in the File City training school, Myotismon sat and wondered: why did all this have to happen? First, he and his parents had been in danger and then parted from each other all because others were afraid of them. Then other Digimon students had to be cruel to him all because of what he was. And now, things had seemed to sort of get back to normal...then just like that, everyone at the University of Atlantis had discovered the truth about Myotismon and run off in fear. Why were others so quick to assume that all vampires were savages who needed to be avoided and destroyed? And to top it off, whatever else could go wrong?

BAM! A gym ball struck Myotismon in the side. Then his eardrums were bombarded by the sound of loud, mocking laughter from some other Digimon. "Well, look who came back: Old Fang Face!" sneered an Angemon. "Get a nice degree in killing?! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" laughed Biyomon, who was now a Birdramon. "Aww, we're so sorry about what happened to you...NOT!" teased a Pixiemon.

More laughter.

Now Angemon glared. "Listen, monster!" he said nastily, "We've made it clear that we don't want you around! Your kind is a danger to us, and if you can't accept that, you're nothing but a moron!"

Myotismon was stunned and looked as if he was about to cry. Angemon noticed this and took it as an opportunity for more teasing. "Oh, are you gonna cry now?" he asked mockingly. "Wanna cry for Mommy?" Pixiemon put in. "Well, go on, crybaby. Go ahead and cry for us!" cried Birdramon, who then proceeded to fake cry. The other Digimon bullies joined in with the fake crying, which was followed by more hurtful laughter.

Then...Myotismon felt the sadness melting away little by little...and being replaced with a feeling of rage and hatred. It was boiling inside him like a flame...and as we know, a tiny flame can quickly become a raging blaze. And finally...it happened!

With a loud scream of rage, Myotismon became engulfed in a dark aura and released a huge, powerful shock wave of dark power, sending his tormentors flying and screaming in terror and pain and leveling the whole school! "I HATE ALL OF YOU!" he roared! As he did, another shock wave came out, damaging the whole city! Digimon were running for shelter and screaming in terror!

Finally, when all was calm, the victims looked upon their attacker. Myotismon's eyes burned with rage as he looked down on them! "If there are any who are monsters, it is YOU!" he cried furiously, "My parents and I did nothing to you, and you treat me as I am nothing but rubbish! You will all pay for this...ALL OF YOU! I SWEAR IT!"

Before anyone could do anything, Myotismon swiftly flew away and was not heard of for a long time. In this absence of his, he had traveled to the region of Kaon on Cybertron, the realm of the gods. Kaon was where the Decepticons, or dark gods, resided. And their master, Megatron, had an academy for villainy. He was quite fond of Myotismon right away, and was amazed at how Myotismon surpassed all the other students.

Over time, however, Myotismon's lust for power became so great, that he somehow managed to overthrow Megatron and take over the academy. During his reign here, he started a special training program for vampires. His best student was Count Dracula himself...and the WORST student was Edward Cullen, who was expelled after a VERY short time!

Finally, Myotismon vanished from the academy and was not known to be seen there again. He spent much time in the main dwelling of the dark gods: the dreaded Realm of the Condemned. There, he would gather power from the darkness and in time became one with darkness itself. This seemed all the better to him, for the more pain he could cause those who scorned him, the better! And would anyone be spared? Not a chance! Myotismon trusted no one. He did not believe that ANYONE could ever love him. Surely there was no one who could love a vampire like him, right?

Actually...wrong. As you are about to see...there was one...


	2. A Tale of Two Freaks

**Chapter 1**

 **A Tale of Two Freaks**

In the city of Detroit, Michigan, there lived a girl of sixteen by the name of Christine DeMarco. She had a great fondness for showing compassion and kindness to others, and would try to do so to anyone she could. This good habit of hers had earned her the nickname "The Maiden of Love".

Some said Christine was as kind as she was beautiful...and beautiful she was! She was tall and curvy with fair skin, pale pink lips and blue eyes. Her long hair rippled down her shoulders like a cascade of blonde, honey-streaked waters, and she had a pair of breasts that many women would kill to have!

Yet, this beautiful creature was carrying a heavy burden with her: despite how kind and appealing she was, she was not liked by many. Because of having Aspberger's syndrome, she was very intelligent in some places, but there were downside effects, too. These included vocal ticks, squeezing of her hands, strange facial expressions and rocking back and forth. These would either annoy people or weird them out enough that they didn't want to be near Christine. And to make it worse, because of all this, Christine did not have what...or rather who...she wanted the most: someone to love and share her life with.

On this day, Christine decided to stop for a snack at the Hockeytown Cafe. She took a table on the balcony, for she liked to eat while looking at the skyline of the city. Today however, she did not look much at it. Instead, she looked down at the table wondering why her life had to be like this.

"Hey, Christine!" said a voice. Christine looked up. It was her only friend, Brian Guyed. He was a tall, muscular young man the same age as Christine. He too was disabled like she was, but he was very creative. He loved writing stories about himself, Christine, and people he had known. In those stories, they would have adventures and meet other characters sometimes. In addition, Brian was very fond of Christine and would do anything for her. The problem was that, courtesy of his disability, he had a habit of talking AT people instead of WITH them. And it was almost always the same topic: his stories. Even Christine could end up getting annoyed.

"So...how's your Digimon game going?" Christine asked. "Oh, it's going WONDERFULLY!" Brian exclaimed, "My Agumon, Rex, has become a Greymon! Isn't that great?!" "Well, congratulations!" "How about you? How's your Gatomon?" Brain wanted to know. "Angelina? Oh, she's doing wonderfully! She can turn into Angewomon now!" Christine answered happily. Brian smiled. Then he frowned and said, "You looked rather down when I saw you. Something wrong? Anything I can help you with?" "Oh..." Christine answered with a sigh, "...I just...I just wish our lives didn't have to be like this. You know what I mean, right? We're not considered 'normal'. We're considered...well, by some...to be 'freaks' just because we're different. And I can't stand it. Why can't we all just get along however normal or abnormal we are?"

Brian was quiet for a while. Then he said, "You know what? I've sometimes wondered about that, too. If there's any power I wish I had, it's the power to eliminate the nonacceptance and cruelty that you, I, and people like us have to put up with. And another thing: if we're not meant to be together...who should we be with?" "Hm...I wonder if there even IS anyone we could possibly end up with." Christine agreed.

* * *

Later that day, Christine returned to her home in the suburbs. It was a rather big and kind of fancy-looking house, for the DeMarcos were a fair amount into upper class. Christine's parents, Dan and Lois, were quite popular for their performing work in plays and operas. In fact, opera was just where they had met.

"Hello? Anyone home?" Christine called, "Mom, Dad, Nick or Erin?" For a while there was no response to Christine's calls. Then her cute 3-year-old Labrador-boxer mix, Bella, trotted up to her eagerly. "Oh, hello, sweet baby." Christine said affectionately, petting the happy puppy, "You wouldn't happen to know where everyone is, would you?" "Actually, yes." Bella answered, "Mom and Dad are at a performer's meeting at Croswell Opera House, and Nick and Erin went off with their friends." "Ah...that sounds like them." Christine replied, "Well, will you be needing anything right now?" "Uhh, nope. I think I'm good right now." Bella answered, "If I need something, I'll come and tell you." "Okay. I'll be in my room if you need me." Christine declared.

Alone in her bedroom, Christine began to despair again. Yes...her parents were away talking with their friends about performing. Christine had tried before to get into plays, but however well she auditioned, she always ended up as an extra. She was never allowed to take the next step...and she had no doubt it was because of her mental being!

And her brother and sister...they had friends whom they could go out with. Did Christine have any? Just one...and the sad thing was he could easily become an annoyance to her because of his habit of talking at people instead of with them.

And what about her Prince Charming? Where was that special person to spend "happily ever after" with Christine. Did such a person even exist? Christine couldn't say...but she certainly had her doubts!

With a sad sigh, Christine turned on her TV and prepared to drown her sorrows in her Digimon game. But no sooner was the TV on, a strange thing happened. A cascade of colors, similar to the "we're experiencing technical difficulties" screen appeared and began to flicker. Christine stood there stunned for a moment, then began to tap her TV, first gently, then a little harder, finally roughly! "Come ON!" she cried in frustration, "Don't do this to me NOW! I NEED this!" Then she let out a cry of shock as a bright light shone from the screen and lit up her room. Christine soon also noticed something about HERSELF: her body looked as it if was made of digital data! "Oh, my gods!" Christine exclaimed. The next thing out of her was a frightened yell as her body digitized...and was pulled into her TV screen!

* * *

In his bedroom, Brian started up his computer to work on some stories he had ideas for. Suddenly, the same strange screen that had appeared to Christine showed up on his monitor. Brian reacted the same way Christine had at first. "Oh, COME ON! I JUST cleaned and defragmented this thing! WHAT in the Realm of the Condemned?!"

It wasn't long before Brian was also taken by shock as the same strange light come out of the screen and shone on him. "WHAT in the...?!" Brian exclaimed as he saw his body taking on the appearance of digital data. Then he heard himself cry out in shock as he digitized and was sucked into the computer monitor!

Then, for the two friends, everything went black...


	3. Destiny Calls

**Chapter 2**

 **Destiny Calls**

Coming out of the blackness, their heads lightly throbbing, Christine and Brian began to hear strange voices.

"I think they're coming around."

"Yup. They're waking up!"

"Are they all right?"

"You okay?"

"Can you hear us all right?"

Slowly, Brian and Christine opened their eyes and sat up while rubbing their heads.

"Oh...ow, my head!" Brian groaned, "Oh...Christine!" "Brian...ouch! Oh...what happened to us?" Christine grunted, rubbing her eyes. Then the two friends looked around...and found themselves surrounded by a group of strange-looking creatures! "Uh, yeah. Watch out for that first step." said one of them, who looked like a little orange T-Rex, "It's a...it can be quite a doozy!"

Brian and Christine froze! For a bit, they could get nothing out except little cries of shock and disbelief! What was going on?! "Th-th-th-th...that's...that's Rex!" Brian finally managed to say. "These...these are DIGIMON!" Christine cried, "Wha...am I dreaming?!" "Uh, I highly doubt that unless I'm having the same dream!" Brian answered.

"Hey, they're speaking our language!" exclaimed a Biyomon. "So cool!" agreed a Patamon. Brian and Christine stopped short. "Uh...yes." Christine stammered, "Of...of course we're speaking English." "Which, by they way, we are clearly hearing from you." Brian added.

A short, dwarf-like creature with white hair and a white beard, carrying a wooden staff, stepped forward. "Actually, children..." he told them, "...it only sounds like your native language to you. We Digimon are speaking our own language. And your native tongue sounds like our language to us." Brian and Christine looked at their new friend funny for a moment. Then Christine managed to say, "O...kaaay..." "Who are you?" Brian asked. "I am Jijimon, and it was I who brought the two of you here. But please...don't be frightened. We are certain that you have questions. Rest assured that you will receive answers." the creature replied.

"Okay..." Christine began, "Well...first off...where are we?" "Why, this is the Digital World." answered a cute little voice, "The Digital World is basically cyberspace. Welcome, Christine!" Christine looked down. Standing at her feet was what looked like a little white cat with blue eyes, yellow gloves on its hands, and rings on its tail. Christine smiled in delight. There was only one Digimon she could think of who would address her name. "Angelina!" Christine exclaimed happily, picking up the little cat and hugging her.

"Oh!...um..." Brian stammered. Then he managed to push past his unease, gather up the Agumon and hug him. "I'm sorry. Great to see you, Rex!" "That's okay, Brian. Welcome to the Digital World!" Rex smiled.

"So, uh...why are we here?" Brian asked. "Ah...come with us, and we will take you to File City. We will inform you of everything there." answered Jijimon.

* * *

Soon, Brian and Christine found themselves in a huge city that looked much like Detroit...only brighter and more cheerful, not to mention cleaner. Steel buildings and spires that glistened in the sunlight stretched high into the sky, flowers with glossy petals adorned the areas outside the buildings, and the streets and walkways were made of shiny steel. In the center of the city was a great building of platinum with crystal windows. Brian and Christine were lead by their new friends toward it.

Once inside, the two friends stared in awe at the beautiful surroundings. There were glossy floors of marble, crystal light fixtures, sparkling fountains and computers with fancy control panels. Eight other Digimon in a group came to greet the arrivals, and with them was a group of children. One of them, a boy with spiky, brown hair and goggles stepped forward to greet Jijimon. "Welcome back, Jijimon!" he said, "So, the gang's finally all here!" "Yes indeed." answered Jijimon, "Meet Brian Guyed and Christine DeMarco."

"Hi, everyone." Brian greeted. "How do you do?" Christine also greeted, extending her hand to shake, "What are your names?" The boy shook her hand. "Tai...Tai Kamiya. Glad to know you two. And boy, I'm sure we'll get along, Brian. We both each have an Agumon!" Brian was delighted. "You have one, too?! Cool!"

Now Tai motioned to a cute little brunette girl. "This is my little sister, Kari. She always wants to do the right thing." "Well, that's a good thing." Christine stated, "I like that." She knelt down to talk to Kari. "Hello. Aren't you a cutie? I hope we'll be good friends." The little girl stared shyly at Christine and softly chuckled. "Yeah...she's a little shy, but I'm sure she'll be fond of you at some time or another." Tai explained. "So...so you have a Gatomon just like me?" Kari asked Christine. Christine nodded. "I certainly do. You have one yourself? My, my! What are the odds?"

"This is Sora." Tai said, pointing to an orange-haired girl with a blue cap, "She's somewhat of a tomboy, but she's a really loving and reliable person." "That's okay." Christine declared, "I'm a tomboy myself." Sora came up and shook Christine's hand in delight. "Oh, I'm so glad! Finally someone I can relate to! A fellow tomboy! OH!" Christine laughed. "I'm sure you and I will get along wonderfully, Sora!"

"This is Mimi." Tai continued with a grin, "I'll bet you can tell what her favorite color is by looking at her!" Christine and Brian had quite an idea, for Mimi was all dressed in pink. "Oh, I LOVE pink!" she exclaimed with glee. Then she looked at Christine and asked, "Oh...do YOU like pink, Miss DeMarco? Isn't it a wonderful color?!" Christine was silent for a while. How would she answer this one? Actually, pink was not a color she cared for at all. Whether some may have believed it or not, she preferred blue. Then it dawned on her how to respond. "Well..." Christine replied, choosing her words carefully, "...pink isn't a color that I would say is a favorite of mine. But I think it looks absolutely adorable on you." Christine smiled in relief as she saw that her answer pleased Mimi.

"And here is Matt...and this is his little brother, T.K. Matt is a great friend, and T.K. is...well...let's just say he's really good at looking on the upside of things." Tai went on, gesturing toward two blonde boys. The littler one wore a green cap with goggles on it. "Tai's right. "Matt declared, "I understand you guys really need friends. Well, hey...ya ever need one, here I am!" "Me, too! The best is always yet to come. I'll help you remember that!" T.K. piped up. Christine smiled. "Oh...thank you." "Yes, thank you. We REALLY could use friends!" Brian admitted.

"Here's Izzy. He's really intelligent!" said Tai, pointing to a red-haired boy with a computer. "If you ever have any questions about computers, please don't hesitate to talk to me." Izzy stated. "Oh, wow! Someone I can relate to! I LOVE computers!" Brian exclaimed in delight! Izzy's eyes widened. "Is that right?! Now THAT is WAY cool! I KNOW you and I will get along!"

"And this is Joe." Tai concluded, gesturing to a black-haired boy with glasses, "Try hard not to scare him, or he might wet himself." Joe grinned nervously. "Ah...ah ha ha...well...isn't it okay if we ALL get concerned for our well-being? And isn't it okay to be afraid?" "Well...yes, but being afraid or concerned is one thing. Letting fear take control of you...that's another." Brian explained. "It's okay, Joe." Christine assured, "I see no suitable reason for us to scare you." "Ohh, thank you!" Joe sighed with relief.

"Well..." Jijimon spoke up, "...now that we're all introduced...you two wanted to know why you are here, yes?" "Yes, please." Christine replied, "We don't recall anything like this ever happening to us. Why are we here?" "I can answer that." came a voice. Christine and Brian turned to see another Digimon in wizardly attire. Christine was the first to greet him. "Oh, hello. I don't recall seeing you before. I'm Christine, and this is Brian. What's your name?" "Wizardmon...and yes, I know who you two are." the newcomer answered, "Now then...the reason why you...and the other children...are here is because you have been chosen as DigiDestined." "DigiDestined? What does that mean?" Brian wanted to know. "DigiDestined are humans chosen by destiny to join forces with Digimon to establish safety and harmony between our two worlds." Wizardmon explained, "At a more recent time, harmony has been a great big concern. Oh, yes. We've certainly had OUR share of fights and misunderstandings. But we've taken a look at YOUR world and found out that you don't have it any better. There seems to be such a problem with hatred in the human world. Why, that attack on the World Trade Center is evidently just the tip of the iceberg."

Christine's eyes widened. "YOU learned about 9/11?!" she asked in surprise. "If that's your name for it, yes." answered Wizardmon. "So you see..." Jijimon put in, "...all this is why we have formed Digital World Organization of Peace...and you children play a special part in it. Your mission as Digimon Tamers is to unite other to our cause: mostly Digimon, but humans and Digimon alike. It is not as complicated as it may seem. You need only to show others acts of love and understanding. Sometimes you may need to use persuasive speech, but that is acceptable as well." "The thing is that we need to avoid fighting as much as possible. THAT needs to be used as a last resort. We're Digimon Tamers, not Digimon Executioners." added Tai.

Christine shrugged. "Sounds good to me. I HATE fighting." "Good. Now then...there are a couple more things." Wizardmon stated. And he handed a small, hand-held computer-like object to Brian and Christine. "Those are your Digivices." he explained, "If you ever need your Digimon partners to Digivolve, this will help." Brian was delighted. "Whoa! Now THIS is awesome! I'm actually holding a Digivice!" he exclaimed. "And you should take these with you, too." Wizardmon added, handing Brian and Christine each a necklace that bore a pendant with a symbol on it.

"What are these?" Christine inquired. "Those are Crests." Wizardmon replied, "Each of them represent a certain personality trait that you'll have to demonstrate to get your Digimon to evolve to higher levels." "We all have one." added Kari. "Yup. I have the Crest of Courage, Kari has the Crest of Light, Sora's is the Crest of Love, Mimi has the Crest of Sincerity, Matt the Crest of Friendship, T.K. the Crest of Hope, Izzy's got the Crest of Knowledge, and Joe's is the Crest of Reliability." Tai explained. "Yours, Brian, is the Crest of Wisdom. And you, Christine, have the Crest of Compassion." Wizardmon declared.

"Well, THIS should be easy! Compassion is my specialty!" Christine said happily. "I don't know how easy it will be for me. But whatever. I intend to try anyway. Wisdom doesn't come with age, after all." Brian said. "Well, you're friends with me, despite my mental condition. I'd say that's a act of wisdom." Christine pointed out. Brian smiled. "Yeah...I think you've got a point there." he told her.

"All right, children. You have heard what your task is. This is your destiny. What say you to it?" Jijimon asked. Brian and Christine stood at attention. "I'll do it!" Christine declared, "If anyone needs some care, I'll be glad to give it to them!" "I'M ready!" Brian agreed, "Let's bring our two races closer together, shall we?" "And I'M gonna be with you the whole way, Brian!" Rex proclaimed. Brian hugged his Digimon. "Thanks, Rex. You're a real pal!" "Where you go, I go, Christine! I'll help you in your task however I can!" promised Angelina. Christine also gave her Digimon a hug. "You'll do just fine, Angelina. I'm SURE of it!"


	4. A Dangerous Task

**Chapter 3**

 **A Dangerous Task**

The eight other DigiDestined and their Digimon liked Christine more and more every day. She was so kind and friendly, and tried to make friends with every Digimon she could. Even Digimon who weren't so appealing, such as Garbagemon and Sukamon, were NEVER left out by Christine. She knew neither they nor she could help it that all Digimon were the way they were. When there was a hard task to be done or if anyone was just feeling down, Christine would try to help everyone feel better by singing an encouraging song.

Brian was lots of fun, too. In any free time, he would tell the others some of his stories. Other times, when Christine finished a song of hers, Brian would lead everyone into a happy, bouncy song. That would liven everyone up greatly, and hard work would get done a lot faster! On one occasion, there was a big task of sorting through and arranging supplies. It was arduous and boring, so Christine tried to spread some encouragement by singing, "Put On a Happy Face". It helped some...and a boost came when Brian led everyone into "Shipoopi"! Before anyone could go back to being down, the work was finished!

Later, Christine and Brian were delighted to see that their families had been welcome into the group, too. "Well, the family that tames together STAYS together!" Christine pointed out. "Yeah." Brian agreed, "There's strength in numbers, too. And hey...the more, the merrier!"

* * *

One day, a problem arose in File City. It was serious as well, because important systems were failing and not working so well. As it turned out, the main power system was weakening, and maintenance was not doing much good for it. It was thoroughly checked, but no trace of tampering could be found. Even Christine's father, Dan, who was also an expert with computers, couldn't figure it out. "If this does not scream, 'strange', you've got me as to what does." he said, "I have checked the whole main power system completely, and I can NOT figure out what is wrong." "What are we going to do?" Palmon asked nervously. "Yeah. If the main power system dies out, we'll be in BIG trouble!" worried Gomamon. "Yipe! I don't even want to THINK about it!" cried Joe tensely. "Wait a minute!" Brian said. "We're not out of luck yet. Brian and I found information on something that could help." Izzy declared.

The gang gathered around. "We're all ears, Izzy!" said Tentomon. "What did you find?" Gabumon asked eagerly. Izzy pulled up a file on his computer and opened it. A picture of a gleaming, golden compact disc appeared. "This." Izzy explained, "According to what information I have, this is called the Power Disc of the Ancients. It has a vast memory system and great power." "Way cool!" exclaimed Patamon. "Where can we find it?" asked Gatomon. "Information also states that the Power Disc of the Ancients is at Infinity Mountain." Izzy replied.

Smiles on the faces of Digimon turned upside down. "Oh...well, THAT'S a problem." frowned Agumon. "Yes, indeed." Jijimon agreed, "Infinity Mountain is a long way from here. To make things worse, to send a group may not leave enough to tend to emergency maintenance." Emergency maintenance was a BIG thing in the Digital World. It required MANY helping hands. "But it doesn't stop there." Jijimon went on, "To send just even a few would be more perilous." "But why?" Christine asked, "What's hindering us so much?" "The problem, Christine, is that the way to Infinity Mountain is no safe task." "You see, Christine...to get to Infinity Mountain, you have to pass through Nightmare Hills. That region is very and I mean VERY dangerous!" Wizardmon explained. Izzy nodded. "We've learned about that ourselves!" "It's said that there are lots of NASTY monster Digimon dwelling there!" T.K. added. "And some...are of the otherworldly type, if you know what I mean!" Brian put in. Joe gulped. "PLEASE do not talk about things like that!" he begged, sweating and shivering, his skin covered with goosebumps.

Christine thought for a moment. Then she stood up. "I'll go!" she proclaimed bravely. Everyone cried out in shock and looked at her with wide eyes. "Christine, did you hear nothing?! It's dangerous! You could get killed!" cried her mother, Lois. "What choice do we have?" Christine pointed out, "We can't just do nothing! Like Gomamon just said, if we lose power from the main system, we're in big trouble." "Sending someone on a suicide mission was NOT what I had in mind! Yes, you ARE attempting something that dangerous!" Gomamon said firmly.

Christine shook her head. "Okay...everybody just chill out for a minute and listen to me! Now look...I understand how dangerous this is. But someone has to do it. And think about it: if there's just me and Angelina, then we'll have an easier time with stealth. Besides, I'm so good with compassionate, persuasive speech. Surely even scary monster Digimon aren't immune to that. We could get some more allies. Jijimon, I told you that I would lend a hand to our organization in any way I could...and that meant not caring about risks to me. And to top it off...I have knowledge of the Heraldic Arts."

It was true. Christine had taken an interest in Heraldic magic. She was not quite into the expert stage yet, but was very skilled with much of the art.

There was but silence for some time. Then Jijimon sighed. "Very well, child. If you will go...then go. But please...PROMISE us you'll be careful." "Of course I will." Christine promised. "We BOTH will!" Angelina declared. "We'll get that disc, and we WILL come back. We've come too far to fail now!" Christine added.

So after stocking up on essential supplies, Christine and Angelina prepared to leave on their journey. Christine's mother softly wept as she hugged her daughter. "Please...please be careful, my baby." "It's okay, Mom." Christine said tenderly, "Angelina will be with me, and we'll help each other. And we WILL come back!" "Your daughter is in good hands...or rather PAWS...with me, Mrs. DeMarco." Angelina promised, "I'll guard her with my life if I must!" "Oh, geez...Christine, if you survive this, I PROMISE I'll inform you when I'm going out with my friends, and you can come. If they don't like it, I won't go!" Nick said nervously. "Nick speaks for me, too! I promise you that!" Erin added uneasily. "Guys...you don't have to bribe me." Christine assured, "This is my choice...and I will do everything in my power to make it back here."

With some farewells and waves, Christine and Angelina started off on their journey. They did not know what they were going to face along to the way. But whatever form it came in, they would be ready for it and face it together!

* * *

That night, everyone did not sleep much. Emergency maintenance did play a part in it, but everyone was mostly still thinking about Christine and Angelina. Would they truly be able to keep their promise to return successfully? Would they even be able to return at all?

"Oh, Tai...I'm so scared!" Kari whimpered. Tai hugged his sister. "It's gonna be okay, Kari. Christine has never let us down before." "I'M not giving up on her!" T.K. declared bravely, "You bet she's never failed us before! She can do this! I'm positive!" Matt patted his brother's back, saying, "I really admire your confidence in her. I'll tell you that. But...she's still taking a big risk." "I think all we can do right now is pray." Sora said with tears in her eyes.

Everyone agreed and bowed their heads as Dan lead. "Kind Autobots, guardians of freedom and justice, please help us now. My daughter and Angelina take such a big risk to help us. Please...protect them and bring them back to us safely."

Suddenly, Jijimon's eyes widened and he froze! "Wait a minute...Wizardmon, did you...?!" "Huh?" asked Wizardmon, heading over at Jijimon's beckoning. The two Digimon spoke softly among each other for a moment. Then they looked at each other with sheer horror! "What is it?! What happened?" Brian asked in a panic. "Oh, NO!" cried Wizardmon, "Jijimon and I forgot to warn Christine about the one who dwells in Nightmare Hills...at Nightmare Castle!"


	5. Into the Deepest Darkness

**Chapter 4**

 **Into the Deepest Darkness**

Dark clouds swirled menacingly over Christine and Angelina's heads as they carefully and quietly made their way through Nightmare Hills, Christine carrying her little Gatomon. It was very dark, Christine and Angelina could see strange shadows creeping along, and they kept hearing strange, scary noises.

But they fought on. File City and their friends meant more to them than their own comfort zones.

Despite this, Angelina could not help but shiver and hold tightly to her friend. "I'm scared, Christine!" Angelina whimpered. Christine cuddled her friend. "I know, honey. I'm scared, too. But it's gonna be okay. We can make it." Christine encouraged, "And hey...aren't you glad that neither one of us is having to face this alone...that we're together?" Angelina nodded and smiled slightly. "I'll not deny that. I sure AM glad you're with me."

Then... _Oh, no!_ Christine thought fearfully. A spine-chilling growl of thunder echoed across the dark mountains. _Oh, perfect! Now we've got a thunderstorm rolling in!_ Christine complained in her mind.

Angelina's heart was pounding. "Oh, no! Not a thunderstorm! What do we do?!" "Relax, honey...just relax." Christine said, cuddling her Digimon, "Panicking won't help us. We'll just look and see if we can find some place to stay until the storm passes." But Christine wasn't at ease herself. She knew it was imperative for the girls to find shelter. Yes, there WAS always the risk of getting struck by lightning. But that wasn't the only problem. What if it rained? If the girls got wet and cold, they could easily end up with hypothermia. What were the odds that there was a warm, dry place in this hell hole? And even if there was, would it be a safe haven from monsters? The odds didn't seem to say "yes".

Just then, the next thing Christine and Angelina knew, a heavy stream of rain was pouring down on them! Now the girls were VERY uneasy! They were getting wet and cold, and the rain was so heavy it was difficult to see. Clutching Angelina and trying to shield her from the rain, Christine pushed forward with all her strength until...ZIP! Her foot slid on a wet rock! The girls yelled and cried out in pain as they tumbled down a wet, slippery, rocky slope and crashed through an iron gate!

Christine's teeth were clenched together in pain as things began to calm down. "...ouch!" she managed to say. Trying hard in summoning every last bit of strength she could, Christine slowly and painfully pulled herself to her feet. Just then, she gasped and her eyes widened. "Angelina?!...Angelina! Angelina, where are you?!" Christine was in a panic as she looked for her friend. "Angelina?!...Angelina, can you hear me?! Where are you?"

"Here I am, Christine." said a weak, sad voice. Christine gasped as she saw her poor little friend huddled up on a pile of stones. Quickly, Christine ran to Angelina and carefully picked her up. "My poor baby! Are you all right?!" she asked. Tears came to Angelina's eyes. "I'm hurting, Christine." Christine carefully hugged her friend. "It's gonna be okay, baby. Let's just find a safe spot, and I'll use a healing spell on you. Good thing I studied Heraldry Arts!"

Carrying Angelina, Christine began to move forward hoping to find some place, any place, that could serve as shelter. Then her feet stopped moving, and her head tilted up. "Ohhh..." was all she could think of to say. When Angelina looked to see what Christine was looking at, her unease became worse. Standing in front of and towering over the girls was a huge, black, stone castle. Carvings and statues of bats and hell beast adorned the walls and towers, and even in the bright flashes of lightning, the castle still looked extremely dark and foreboding.

Christine was silent for a moment. Then she shrugged and said, "Well...I guess this'll have to do." Angelina's heart was racing. "I...I don't know, Christine. That castle does NOT look welcoming...unless you count 'Welcome to your doom'!" Christine shook her head. "I don't think we have a choice, Angelina. At least it should be warm and dry inside. Yeah, I think we'll be better off in there than out here."

Cuddling a shivering Angelina, Christine made her way to the two massive iron doors at the front. On each one was a brass knocker with a brass bat above it. Summoning all her courage, Christine took hold of one of the knockers and rapped on the door. Then strangely enough, the door slowly opened with an eerie creaking noise. Christine and Angelina trembled as they looked in, but could see no one. They wondered what had happened, but now was not the best time to delve deeply into that, for they needed shelter. Cautiously, Christine stepped inside.

It was eerily silent inside. It was also very dark except for some light from lit torches, candles and candelabras. Tapestries of dark colors and with monster designs, and designs of skulls and ghouls adorned the cold, stone walls.

Christine took a deep breath, then began to call out. "Um...hello!...Hello?...Anybody home?"

No answer.

Angelina shivered some more. "Ohhh...I don't like this place, Christine!" she said fearfully, "It's dark...and scary...!"

Then the door began to make its eerie, creaking call as it slowly closed behind the girls...and sealed the entrance with a thud that echoed all around the room! The girls jumped and cried out in shock.

"AAH! Now it's even darker!" cried Angelina, huddling fearfully into her friend's arms. Christine cuddled her Digimon and gently kissed her head. "It's okay, baby...it's okay. I'm here...I've got you." Then she called out again. "Is anyone here at all?...Hello?" But again, she received no reply except the echo of her own voice. Angelina trembled. "Uh...m-m-maybe there's no one here, Christine." she stammered uneasily. "Well, then...I guess no one will mind if we stay here tonight." Christine said. Then she spotted a massive torch-lit staircase. "Ah...maybe we'll find something useful up there." Holding her trembling friend snugly, Christine began to ascend the staircase.

* * *

But Angelina was wrong. There WAS someone in that castle...someone who had been and was even now watching the girls' activity in the castle in a magical orb. "Ahh, so this is the meddler...the one recruiting Digimon and humans for peace...enough who may try to foil my plans for revenge. Such a pity...she has succeeded in getting on the wrong side of me, and will surely regret it!"

* * *

Finally, Christine came the top of the staircase which ended at two massive doors, each with a giant brass bat. "Hmm...this must be the entrance to the throne room." she said, and pushed open one of the doors...which also made an eerie creak as it opened. Then the girls jumped as they saw a flock of bats flying around and heard their squeaks and wing flaps.

With a little observation, it was obvious to the girls that the cavernous, fire-lit room they had reached was the throne room. A long, blood red carpet ran down the center of the stone floor up to a throne on which no one sat. It was of black marble and adorned with blood red cushions, white ivory skulls and golden metal bats. The back was in the form of the top part of a sharp-fanged winged hell beast.

At one end of the room was a bed covered with a deep purple blanket and draped with curtains of the same color. A large chandelier adorned with candles, dark crystals, and golden designs of skulls and bats hung from the middle of the high ceiling. Then a sight near the throne really caught Christine's eye: a huge pipe organ. Cobwebs were scattered over the large pipes and more ghastly designs of demons and bats adorned the organ itself. The knobs and switches were in the design of skulls. "Well...may have a ghastly look, but I'm still sure my dad would love to see this." Christine stated, for her father had been an organist and had even played at the Fox Theater.

Strangely enough, there were modern conveniences to be seen as well: a big plasma screen TV, a Blu-Ray DVD player, and a large computer with a fancy control panel. "Well, well...evidently whoever lived here was fond of modern things, but also liked the classic 'haunted castle' look." Heh...what are the odds?" Christine grinned. Angelina managed to grin, too. Then something else caught her attention, and her eyes widened. "Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Christine?...I...I th-th-think you'd better look at that!" she said nervously, pointing to a spot near the throne. Christine looked at where Angelina was pointing. Laying down on the floor was a large, black coffin outlined with gold and a large, golden bat stretched over the lid. Christine's heart rate began to speed up. But all she could manage to do was look at Angelina and grin in a way that said, "Oh, well."

Then Christine caught sight of something our of the corner of her eye. Flying nearby was a little bat-like Digimon with a round body, yellow eyes, and bird-like feet. "Um...excuse me..." Christine began. The creature cried out in shock at the sound of Christine's voice and the sight of her. Then it lost control of its wings and tumbled onto a blood red sofa. Christine gasped. Setting Angelina down, she raced over to the sofa. "Oh...oh, I am SO sorry!" she apologized, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. You're not hurt, are you?" The little creature grunted as he pulled himself to his feet. "Ah...eh...don't worry about me...I''ll make it." "Are you all right? Have you been hurt?" Christine asked with concern. "No, no, I'm quite all right. Good thing that sofa was there." the little bat answered as he took to the air again and landed on the the back of the sofa.

"Hello." Christine greeted, "I don't believe we've met. I'm Christine, and this is Angelina. And you are...?" The little bat looked at her stiffly. "Ah...uh...eh, well..." he stammered nervously. "Please don't be scared." Christine said tenderly, "We won't hurt you." "Uh...sorry." the bat managed to say, "I, uh...I just...get nervous, is all. Er...so...you're the human everyone's talkin' about? The one called the Maiden of Love?" Christine smiled. "That's me." "Ah...well...m-my name's DemiDevimon." the little bat stated. "A pleasure, DemiDevimon." Christine said pleasantly. Then she frowned and asked, "Do you live here all by yourself?" "Huh?...Oh, uh...n-no." DemiDevimon answered, "There's...there's the Sukamon and the Bakemon and..."

At that point, Angelina cut in. "Oh...um, sorry to interrupt, but I just HAD to say: there are Sukamon here? Well, they will definitely LOVE Christine! She tries to befriend every Digimon she meets!" DemiDevimon looked at Christine. "EVERY Digimon?" he asked. "Of course." Christine explained, "That's part of my job as a Digimon Tamer. In fact, I'd love to be YOUR friend, too." DemiDevimon frowned. "I...see. Well...good luck tryin' to befriend my boss. I really don't know how he would respond to you friendship advances. Why, he's the reason I'm so tense!" "Oh, is he strict?" Christine asked. DemiDevimon's eyes widened! "Is he strict?! Kid, you have NO idea! Let me put it to ya THIS way: you get on my master's bad side, and you are bound to be in a LOT of pain! That is, if...and I mean IF...you survive!"

Christine scratched her head and was quiet for a while. Then she said, "Hmm...well...I certainly see no reason to make him mad. I'd love to try and befriend everyone who lives here, your master included. I certainly wouldn't want to upset them at all. So, um...who is in charge here?"

"Allow me to answer that." came a deep voice. DemiDevimon, Angelina and Christine turned and gasped in shock. DemiDevimon began to quake with fear as a tall, powerful creature stepped from the shadows. His waist was quite thin, but his upper torso was very muscular. He was arrayed in a royal blue, gold-trimmed suit, gray gloves with white bat prints, two belts with pouches, and black boots with prints of a bat and a skull. A long cape with a vampire style collar hung down the figure's back. It was black on the outside and blood red on the underside, pinned with a golden bat brooch in the center and a white skull brooch on either side. The collar was split in half and seemed to resemble hell beast wings. A red mask with ends that looked like bat wings was spread over the middle of the figure's face. The creature smiled, revealing white teeth with long, sharp, glistening canines.

Christine began to feel some fear well up inside her, but she couldn't understand why. She was not afraid of vampires, nor could she take her eyes off this one. Christine had never seen such a beautiful creature. _Holy son of a gun! He's beautiful!_ she exclaimed in her mind. Aloud, she said, "I beg your pardon. Is this your castle? I'm very sorry. Angelina and I did not mean to trespass. We got caught in the storm and were seeking shelter from it."

The vampire held up his hand. "Please..." he said, "...there is no need to apologize. It is always such a treat to see fresh blood around my castle. Now then...let us start things off on the right foot, shall we? I am Lord Myotismon, master of Nightmare Castle. And I bid you welcome to my humble home." "Pleased to meet you, Lord Myotismon." Christine said politely, bowing. Then she extended her hand for a shake, adding, "I'm Christine. Christine DeMarco. This is Angelina." Myotismon took Christine's hand, but gently kissed it instead of shaking hands. His kiss was icy cold, but Christine felt warm. She had never had a gorgeous man kiss her on the hand before. "Yes, indeed. Word of you has spread around the Digital World and has reached Nightmare Hills." Myotismon declared, "So many Digimon are talking about you, child."

"Even out HERE?! Wow weird! What are the odds of THAT?! You're getting to be really popular, Christine!" Angelina said excitedly. Christine was enamored at the thought of this too. Then she shrugged and stated, "Well, I do what I can for Digimon. And if they want to start a fan club, hey...they can go for it." Turning back to Myotismon, she added, "Well, if you don't want us here, we can leave. Is there any other place we might find to stay, your Excellency?"

"Oh, no, no, no, no! I beg of you, don't talk like that." Myotismon pleaded, "Please stay. It is not often that I receive visitors. I assure you that your staying here will be no trouble at all. Why, you must be tired and hungry." Angelina looked pensive for a short second. "Well, now that you mention it..." she began. "Hmm...we are going to need full strength to continue our trip..." Christine put in. She looked back at the vampire...and could tell by the look on his face that he insisted upon it. So she smiled and said, "All right. We'll stay."

Myotismon smiled. "Excellent! Now then...come with me. I am sure you are hungry and want to prepare for dinner. And I will see to it that a place to sleep is set up for both of you." Christine was very happy. "Thank you, your Excellency. You are..." But Myotismon interrupted. "Please...you need not address me so formally. I insist...call me by name." "Well...okay." Christine agreed. Then she added gratefully, "Thank you...Myotismon. You are very kind."


	6. Myotismon: Friend or Foe?

**Chapter 5**

 **Myotismon: Friend or Foe?**

Soon, Christine and Angelina each sat down to a dinner of baked steak, mashed potatoes, fruit salad and iced tea. Angelina ate hungrily, but Christine wasn't so quick to start. Myotismon did not eat, which concerned her. "Is everything all right?" Myotismon asked. "Hm?...oh, yes, yes...thank you. This is really good. I just...I just wondered why you weren't eating." Christine answered. Myotismon shook his head. "Oh, don't worry about me. I do not usually dine this early. You go ahead and have your dinner, and I'll just watch you enjoy it. It is always so hard to get a good meal when one is not at home." Christine gave a scoffing chuckle. "You can say THAT again!" she agreed, recalling a day from her childhood. She and her school group had been visiting a crayon factory in Ohio. Then they all went out for lunch...and the food at the restaurant where they ate was horrible! Nowadays, Christine could only imagine how Gordon Ramsey would have reacted to the place's food...and conditions!

"Tell me, Christine. Rarely does anyone dare to pass through Nightmare Hills. What has brought you and your little friend here?" Myotismon wanted to know. Christine raised her index finger saying, "Ah...there's a story there. Angelina and I are part of a group in File City. We're called the Digital World Organization of Peace. As a Digimon Tamer and Digimon partner, it's our job to do what we can to help humans and Digimon alike find some common ground...live together in harmony. But lately, our main power system has been having a problem and we can't figure out what. Now supposedly, this thing called the Power Disc of the Ancients could fix the system up. But it's at Infinity Mountain, and we had to pass through here to get there."

"Ahh, yes...Infinity Mountain." Myotismon mused aloud. "Oh, do you know something about it?" Christine asked. Myotismon grinned. "I know many things, my dear...and Infinity Mountain is but...as you humans say...the tip of the iceberg." And he began to tell Christine of his studies and things he had learned at the University of Atlantis, along with how well he had done. Christine listened with great interest.

"Wow!" Christine exclaimed when Myotismon had finished his story, "So much knowledge in all those things...you must have been the most popular student ever!" "Oh, I was with many!...and then..." Myotismon paused to sigh and frown. He spoke in a more melancholy tone. "...then came the day of graduation...and all was ruined. For everyone there found out what I really was...and ran away in sheer terror, never even giving me a chance. And when I returned home...I was only in for more cruelty from other Digimon...all for being a vampire." Christine's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "Oh, Myotismon! That's terrible!" she exclaimed sadly. Myotismon shook his head. "That was not all of it. Many years ago when was but a little child and a Bakemon, my parents and I had always been being hunted. It was all because they were vampires and I was to become one. One night, we managed to get away...for a time. But the Locomon we rode was attacked...and in all the chaos I was separated from my parents." "Oh, no!" Christine cried. Myotismon nodded. "Yes. And I was forced to wander around, not knowing what to do. Though an Imperialdramon was kind enough to take me under his wing for mentoring and care, the trouble did not cease. He would keep telling other Digimon not to mistreat me for what I was...but they never listened."

At this point, Myotismon slammed his fist on the table. "Why?!" he said angrily, "Why must others judge me before they even know me?! If only THEY were able to experience all the hatred and rejection I've suffered from!" He paused and sighed. "But...why am I telling you all this? That would be a better question to ask at this point. You could never understand!"

Christine felt tears coming to her eyes. She reached out and gently took hold of Myotismon's hand. "No, Myotismon. That's not entirely true. I may not understand being an orphan, but I DO understand rejection." she said gently, and she told Myotismon of her mental state of health and how she was cast aside because of it. She also told Myotismon how Brian was in the same state and was the only friend she had. That was all they had, it seemed...just each other.

Myotismon looked at the girl with a bit of curiosity. _Truly?_ he thought, _Could she really understand my pain?_ But aloud, he said, "Aspberger's syndrome? Ah, yes...I know of it well. Word came out that the Atlanteans had perfected a cure. But before they could send it out, the whole problem of the sinking of Atlantis had to happen." Christine cringed. "Oooh...that IS a bummer." Then she took hold of Myotismon's hand again and kindly said, "Well, you don't have to feel like you're alone anymore. Like I said, I too have suffered from rejection...and I wish I could make things better for the both of us."

* * *

Later, Christine and Angelina were taken back to the throne room for a good sleep. Next to the bed was a dark red braided rug. When Angelina saw it, she was delighted. She ran up to the rug, turned around three times, and lay down. "Ahhh, a rug...one of the purr-fect beds for a cat like me!" she sighed contentedly. "Oh...you sure you don't to share the bed with me? Will you be comfortable and warm enough?" Christine wanted to know. "Why, Christine, you needn't worry about me." Angelina assured, "This rug feels just fine, and I have a fur coat, besides. But...if it makes you feel better, I will join you if I experience any cold or other discomfort." Christine smiled. "Okay, honey. Suit yourself." she said, and took off the white open shirt she wore over her blue tank top and hung it up on the headboard. Next, Christine took off her shoes and sat down on the bed that was all ready for sleeping. The mattress felt soft and foamy. Finally, Christine placed herself in a horizontal direction across the bed. But as she began to reach for the covers, Myotismon stopped her. "No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. You do not need to do that. You are my guest. So you go ahead and lay down, and I'm going to tuck you in." Myotismon insisted. Christine shrugged. "Um...okay." and complied with the wish of Myotismon, who pulled the covers up to Christine's chest.

"There we are! All snug and safe!" Myotismon said with a smile, "Now then...is there anything else you ladies require? Glass of water? Lullaby? Bedtime story?" Christine giggled. "Thank you, but I think we're good. Right, Angelina?" Angelina stretched and grunted. "I'm fine, thanks." she declared. Myotismon nodded. "As you wish, my dears. But if you require anything at all, please do not hesitate to call for me." "All right. We'll do just that." Christine said, "Thank you." "Oh, not at all. You make yourselves at home. As I said, this is no trouble at all." Myotismon replied, "Good night, dear girls." "Good night, Myotismon." said both Christine and Angelina, and they fell asleep very soon, for they were exhausted from their long walk and trouble in the storm.

* * *

The next thing Christine knew, a clock tower bell was striking the hour...three o'clock. She looked around. Where was she? Oh, yes...she was in a fine bed...in Myotismon's castle. Christine fingered her wrist watch until a bright aquamarine light lit up the screen and revealed the time...yes, it was indeed 3:00 AM. "My word! Have we really been here that long?" Christine exclaimed softly. She looked down at Angelina, who was all curled up in a cute little ball and sleeping like a rock. "Hmm..." Christine whispered to herself, "We'd better not stay too much longer. We've REALLY got to complete our mission. And of course, I want to thank Myotismon before we leave...and he may not be awake for too much longer...hm. I know what to do." Carefully, Christine began to set an alarm on her watch for 6:00 AM. "There...yeah, that should do it." she decided, "We'll sleep three more hours, and then we'll hit the road. Myotismon may be getting ready to go to sleep at that time."

Christine lay back down, but she was unable to sleep. She thought about what Myotismon had told her...about all the pain he had been through...all the hate, rejection, judgement, and even loss of his parents...all because he was a vampire. The very thought of all this and the thought of how horribly lonely Myotismon had been brought tears to Christine's eyes. Why did this have to happen? And why did anything LIKE it have to happen? _I mean, for crying out loud_...Christine thought, _We mustn't judge people before we know them, we're not supposed to judge by outward appearance, and we must NOT kick someone around for being different! But noooo! You'd think even an idiot would know those things! But noooo!_

With a sad sigh, Christine lay there wishing she could do something...anything...to make things better for Myotismon, even if she could only do it a little. Then it dawned on her. "That's it!" she quietly exclaimed to herself, "Yeah! The Digital World Organization of Peace is open to all humans and Digimon with their mission. Sure, they'd take Myotismon. I'll invite him to come and join us. Yes, that's what I'll do." Then Christine rolled over and began to fall back to sleep, very content with what she had decided to do.

Christine failed to notice the dark figure that slipped into the room and was soon towering over her bed. She was not at all aware that Myotismon was standing over her with his cape spread out like bat wings. He was smiling...but it wasn't a friendly smile! He spoke hauntingly. "Such a pity for you...your compassion for others would surely turn all against me and foil my plans of revenge. You say you understand my pain...but you lie! You cannot fool me! You care nothing for me! NO ONE does...and they will all greatly regret it but too late...you included!"

In anger, Myotismon leaned down toward Christine and bared his fangs with a sinister hiss. Christine had made out his words and hissing, but she did not respond. She thought her mind was just playing tricks on her because of sleepiness. And then...it happened! With a louder hiss, Myotismon opened his mouth and drove his sharp fangs right into the fair, pale skin of Christine's neck!

Christine felt a bit of pain, but didn't take much notice to that either. She had a high tolerance for physical pain. _Must be a small muscle spasm._ she thought. So there lay Christine with no knowledge of danger...having no idea that Myotismon was biting her, sucking the life out of her...and enjoying the feel of her warm blood running down his throat...

* * *

When Christine awoke again, her watch was giving off a beeping noise. She sat up, turned off the alarm and stretched. Then she climbed out of bed, made it up quickly, and put her shirt and shoes back on. Finally, she knelt down on the rug and gently shook Angelina. "Angelina...honey?" The little cat mumbled, awakened and yawned while stretching. "What time is it?" she yawned. "Six in the morning, so I think we really need to be on our way. And I want to thank Myotismon before he turns in." Christine answered. Angelina stretched again. "Okay." she grunted, "I feel rested now. We can go."

Christine gathered up her things, and she and Angelina made their way down the stairs. Luckily for them, Myotismon was in the entrance hall. "Good morning." Christine greeted. "Ah, good morning, my dear girls." Myotismon greeted pleasantly, "Did you sleep well?" "Yup. Sure did." Angelina replied. "Yes, very." Christine answered, "And a good thing we ran into you, too. I'm afraid we've really got to be going, and we wanted to say goodbye before we left." "Oh, that's right. You're on a mission, aren't you? Well...then certainly don't let me keep you from it!" Myotismon declared.

Without hesitation, Christine walked up to Myotismon and hugged him. "Thank you." she said politely, "Thank you so much for everything." "Yeah! Thank you!" Angelina agreed. For a moment, Myotismon was rather stunned. "My, you ARE a brave one!...well, anyway..." Myotismon paused to clear his throat, "...you are very welcome. It was wonderful to have you here." He hugged Christine and continued in a saddened tone, "Oh, I will miss you." "I'll miss you, too. But...all hope is not lost!" Christine said happily, and she dug into her backpack, pulled out a blue compact disc and handed it to Myotismon. "The Digital World Organization of Peace would SURELY accept you. If you ever decide you'd like to join us, this disc has all the information you need about us and where we are." Christine explained. Myotismon looked at the disc curiously. "You are certain I would be welcomed?" he asked in an unsure manner. "Of course. Everyone here would be. Living together in harmony is what we're all about." "Whoa, even I could come?!" said DemiDevimon excitedly. "You bet!" Christine replied.

Myotismon thought for a while. Then he turned to Christine and said, "Well...then perhaps we will meet again." Christine smiled. "I'd love that. Oh...and one more thing..." Christine reached into her backpack again and took out a blue silk rose with dark red and silver ribbons. "Here you go." she said, handing it to Myotismon, "This is for you." Myotismon was surprised. "What...when did...why...since when do you have to offer me a gift?" "I don't." Christine explained, "I did this of my choosing. This is one thing we do to show others that we care: we offer them presents. I bought this rose in hopes of being able to give it to a special someone. And it seems to me that that special someone...is you."

Myotismon looked at the rose for a moment. Then he smiled and said, "Thank you, my child. It is beautiful. I will certainly think of you every time I see it. As for joining your group of friends, well...I will come if I am able to." Christine grinned from ear to ear. "Great! I'll be waiting!" "We all will." Angelina added, "Well, we'd better get going. Thanks again for all your hospitality." "Oh, yes." Christine agreed, "Hope I see you soon, Myotismon. You too, DemiDevimon. Goodbye for now."

* * *

A while later after the girls had left, Myotismon was in his throne room looking the information on the disc from Christine on the computer. With him were some other Digimon, who were amazed at how Christine had acted towards him. "Wow! That kid is one heck of a sweetheart!" exclaimed a Digimon named Gatsumon. "Yeah, inviting all of us...you included...to come and join her pals...and even HUGGING you and giving you a present! That's WAY sweet!" added another Digimon named Pumpkinmon. A third Digimon, Phantomon, was very curious and amazed about Christine's special gift. "A rose, my lord?" he asked, "Could the child possibly be feeling affection towards you?"

Myotismon did not respond to any of the other Digimon. He was busy studying the information on the computer, all the while fingering the rose Christine had given him. "Hmmm...yes...so I see..." Then Myotismon stood up and a wicked smile crept onto his face. "Uhh...everything okay, boss?" DemiDevimon asked. Myotismon looked at him. "Why, of course, dear DemiDevimon. I've never felt better!" This was followed by an evil chuckle. Then Myotismon continued, "Poor, unsuspecting child. She has given me everything I need to know about File City and that wretched Digital World Organization of Peace. The right amount of power and a vast enough army...and there WILL be peace in the Digital World...MY kind of peace! And by 'peace', I mean destruction, devastation and death! Finally, those who scorned me will pay...Christine included!" As he spoke, Myotismon threw down the rose Christine had given him! The other Digimon cried out. "Whoa, whoa! Careful, boss! The kid gave that to you for a reason!" DemiDevimon cried. "My lord, surely you are not thinking of killing her, are you?! You saw how she acted towards you! Surely she cares about you. Please spare her!" pleaded Phantomon.

"Don't be foolish, ANY of you!" Myotismon snapped, "Of course she doesn't care! After all I've been through, how do you possibly expect me to believe that there is someone who would accept me?! Her behavior was nothing more than a ruse! Well, she is NOT going to trick me! NO ONE ever accepted me before, and no one ever will! And do NOT say Imperialdramon was different! Had he cared, he would have severely punished the brats who tormented me!"

Myotismon looked back at the computer monitor and smiled wickedly again. "But now..." he gloated, "...I have all the information I require. Once the proper preparations are completed, we shall strike! File City and soon the whole Digital World will fall into my hands! And then, my vengeance shall pass on to the human world! Humans and Digimon alike who treated and would treat me with such hatred will finally treat me with respect or perish! And anyone who tries to interfere with my vengeance...will be destroyed!"

The other Digimon looked at each other in dismay and confusion as Myotismon began to laugh maniacally.


	7. There is Love

**Chapter 6**

 **There is Love**

It seemed like it had been ages since Christine and Angelina had left, and File City was nearing the point where it needed the Power Disc of the Ancients more than ever! And to top it off, everyone was terribly worried about the girls.

"Oh, this is so scary! What if they got killed?!" Kari worried. But T.K. wasn't so sure about that. "I don't think they did. Not only is Angelina really tough, but Brian told me that Christine is really good with Heraldic arts." Sora had her doubts. "What good would all THAT be against a killer vampire and who knows what else?!" "Ohh...what if Myotismon got her and bit her and turned her into a vampire?!" moaned Joe. "Don't talk that way! You're scaring me!" cried Mimi. "We've ALL got good reason to be scared!" Matt pointed out. "Oh, if only there were some way we could contact the girls!" Gabumon said in frustration.

Just then, Nick and Erin ran in. "Hey, guys! Christine and Angelina are coming!" Nick cried excitedly. "And it looks like they're bringing another friend, too!" Erin added, grinning from ear to ear.

The gang ran outside. "Up there!" Erin said happily, both her and Nick pointing upwards. The others looked up in the direction where Nick and Erin were pointing. Up in the sky was a beautiful bird-like Digimon with blue eyes and feathers of purple, orange and gold. And on its back were Christine and Angelina.

"Yay! We made it!" Angelina said, pointing down. "And there's the gang!" Christine smiled. She turned to their new friend. "That's the place, Phoenixmon. And our friends are right down there." "All right. I'd LOVE to meet them!" said the bird Digimon, "Hold on, girls. We're going in for a landing."

As soon as Phoenixmon alighted on the ground, the rest of the gang ran over to greet Christine and Angelina. Brian threw his arms around Christine, saying, "Christine! Oh, Christine! You have NO idea how relieved I am to see you and Angelina safe!" Christine hugged her friend. "Believe me. I have an inkling!" "What a relief!" Wizardmon sighed. Then he frowned in concern, saying, "Eh...you DO have the disc, don't you?" "Oh, yes!" Christine said, and she reached into her backpack, pulled out a shining, golden compact disc and gave it to Wizardmon. Then she introduced her new friend. "This is Phoenixmon. He was guarding Infinity Mountain and the disc." "Glad to know you, Phoenixmon." greeted Jijimon, "Thank you very much for your help." Phoenixmon shook his head. "Think nothing of it, my friends." he replied, "I owe much to your kind friend, Christine. It was she who suggested that I come and join your peacekeeping group. If you will have me, I will be glad to do whatever I can for our two worlds." Tai smiled. "You bet we will!" "We'd be glad to have you, Phoenixmon." Agumon agreed. "There you have it. Welcome to the team!" Christine said with a friendly smile. "Yes, sir! Now then...we'd better this disc installed pronto!" said Izzy.

* * *

Soon the Power Disc of the Ancients was successfully installed, and File City was up and running like new...maybe even better than before!

Later, Christine and Angelina were given a shower of gratitude with relief. Lois hugged her daughter. "Oh, baby...we were SO worried about you." "Indeed!" Wizardmon agreed, "Jijimon and I were horrified when we realized we had forgotten to warn you about a great danger in Nightmare Hills!" "Oh? What was that?" Christine asked. "You see...in Nightmare Hills is a place called Nightmare Castle. And it is home to Myotismon, a very powerful and very dangerous vampire Digimon!" Jijimon explained. "We worried that he got you!" Rex put in. "Myotismon? Oh, Angelina and I met him. We got caught in a storm and ended up at his castle. And we were forced to take shelter inside." Christine told everyone.

Cries of shock and terror shot up from Christine's family, DigiDestined and Digimon. Christine looked confused. "What? He wasn't bad at all. He was very kind to us. Why, he gave us dinner and a place to sleep." "EEK! Not dinner! The food was poisoned! You're a goner, Christine!" cried Joe. "Oh, relax! If the food we ate was poisoned, Angelina and I would not be here!" Christine contradicted. "He didn't hurt you, did he?!" asked Rex in a panic. "No, he did not hurt us. He was a sad and lonely Digimon who had been kicked aside all his...well...living death. And it was all because of what he was. He was judged before he was even known." Christine explained. Everyone's eyes narrowed to slits. "He told you that?" Patamon asked, crossing his little arms. "And you believed him?" Tentomon inquired. "Yes, he DID say that! And of course I believed him!" Christine answered in a rather annoyed tone of voice, "My goodness, this poor, beautiful, intelligent Digimon never did anything to anyone. And yet he ended up losing his parents, being treated like garbage and being greatly feared all because of what he was. So...I invited him to come and join us."

More shocked cries. "You did WHAT?!" cried Jijimon. "Uh, yes! I invited him to join our cause. I gave him information about us and our operation in the case he wanted to. Aren't we supposed to do that?" "Not to HIM! He'll doom us all!" Palmon protested. Gomamon lowered his eyes in exasperation. "This certainly WAS a suicide mission!" "Christine, are you forgetting something? This Myotismon is a VAMPIRE! HEL-LO!?" Bella pointed out. Now Christine's eyes narrowed to slits. "So?" "So!? Is THAT all you can say?! SO?!" cried Gatomon. "SO...Myotismon is a vampire, and vampires are dangerous! There have never been any friendly vampires!" Matt said firmly. "Yes, we are all about peace. But that does not mean we will not have enemies." Jijimon added. Christine began to get angry. "You don't even KNOW him!" she fumed, "Are you seriously telling me that any others should get a chance, but he shouldn't?!" "Everyone's heard of him!" Wizardmon declared firmly, "He is dangerous!"

"AAAH!" Joe suddenly yelled frantically, pointing at Christine, "I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT! Christine will become a vampire and kill us all!" Christine looked at him VERY confused. "What in the world are you talking about?!" Suddenly, everyone else yelled in sheer terror as they looked at Christine. "What?! What is the matter?!" Christine demanded. Angelina was trembling. "Uh...Christine? I...I think you should look in the mirror...and see what's right...on...your...NECK!" Christine didn't know what to think. "Wh...what?" she asked in a confused tone. "PLEASE just do it, Christine...for us!" Rex begged.

Fortunately, there was a mirror nearby. Feeling all the more confused, Christine walked up to it and exposed her neck to examine it. Sure enough, right on her throat were two puncture wounds with a little crusted blood dripping from them!

"Oh...!" Christine exclaimed. But she said nothing more. For a while, she only looked at her wounds while stunned. _Holy son of a gun! He bit me!_ she thought. Then Christine's shocked look faded little by little, and she finally just shrugged and said, "Oh, well...vampires will be vampires, I guess." Nobody else knew what to think. "That's IT?!" Sora cried, "You're just going to shrug it off like that?!" "What's the big deal?" Christine asked, "All he did was bite my throat. It's not like he hacked my limbs off. There's not a lot of harm done. Besides, he was just getting food like any of us do. Okay, our diets are different, but he was only getting food nonetheless."

"Christine!" Brian groaned exasperatedly. Christine looked at her friend. "Brian...will you relax? Will ANY of you relax? I feel fine. No big damage is done. Nothing bad is going to happen."

* * *

Later that day, Christine sat outside the city by herself. And in the quiet, she wondered. What did everyone act so panicked? Why were they jumping all over Myotismon like that? Did they know him? Of THAT Christine surely had doubts. She couldn't believe Jijimon. "Why?" she asked herself, "If our group is supposed to be all about living together in harmony, then why do the others not want to give Myotismon a chance? Why don't they want to try to get to know him first? Why don't they believe me that he needs friends?" Christine sadly sighed as she remembered how kind Myotismon had been to her and Angelina...and of all the pain he had told her that he went through.

Tears came to Christine's eyes again. "Myotismon was so nice to me." she said to herself, "He never showed me any signs of aggression. How could anyone possibly treat such a beautiful, intelligent Digimon with so much hatred and rejection? And even if he is so very angry because of it, I can't blame him. And he would only need to know that someone DOES care...someone who also has suffered from hate and rejection all for being different...and I just happen to know someone like that: me. Yes...I'm sure Myotismon needs me, and I need him!"

Suddenly, Christine began to feel a strange, warm stirring in her heart. For a while, she was too surprised to say anything. Then she began to wonder out loud to herself, "Is this...could this be...?...yes! It HAS to be...yeah, Myotismon needs friends, but I'm positive I can give him more. He must be the special someone I longed for. Who better to spend your life...with than someone who understands what pain you've been through...whose life you can touch by being able to relate to the emotional pain he or she has suffered from...and showing that person that he or she is NOT alone?" Christine paused to think about this, and then a smile came onto her face. "Oh...yes, Myotismon..." she declared with joy, "I'm falling in love with you!"

And she began to sign a beautiful song about love...about how she was convinced that she needed Myotismon, and that he needed her...and that there was indeed love blossoming. How the entire song went has not been confirmed, but the chorus has definitely been noted as follows:

"There is love

And it sings a sweet song.

There is love.

I can't help but sing along.

I can't describe the joy that I'm feeling inside.

But I know why it's there:

There is love."

* * *

Christine was not aware, however, that someone else had heard her song. Far away in his castle, Myotismon looked with a menacing smile at Christine in a magical orb. He chuckled wickedly. "I'll admit, your voice is incredibly lovely, Christine!" he said darkly, "But do you speak the truth with your song? Do you truly feel love for me? Oh, we'll just see about that...now, won't we?"

His evil laughter echoed through the shadows.


	8. Is Christine Crazy?

**Chapter 7**

 **Is Christine Crazy?**

For the next few days, Christine would look out of her bedroom window at night in hopes that Myotismon would come. She would do this until she felt sleepy. On the next couple of nights, she went outside during the night and sat waiting with the same intentions. But to her disappointment, Myotismon never came.

* * *

The next day, Dan had evidently seen Christine outside, for he asked her, "What EVER were you doing outside last night?! Promise me you'll never do that again!" Christine looked confused. "What, Dad? It was a nice night, so I went out for some fresh air...and to see if Myotismon would come."

More shocked cries.

"Christine, have you LOST IT?!" cried Tai, "You want him to kill you?!" "He's NOT going to kill me!" Christine contradicted, "What is the MATTER with you guys?!" "Just listen to me a minute and be a good child." Jijimon said calmly, "Myotismon is a great danger to us all. He has attacked other Digimon and even humans before. Survivors are extremely rare. THAT is how dangerous he is." Christine shook her head. "That's probably because he's been so horribly mistreated." she protested, "If we just showed him a little care, he might not be that way anymore."

"Psh! You're too soft." scoffed Nick. "And YOU'RE not soft enough! Neither of you are!" Christine spat back. "Being hated so much is no excuse to become a deranged murderer!" Matt said angrily. "Oh, I think it's PLENTY an excuse when you've been through the crap that Myotismon has!" Christine fumed, "That can happen if you do it to the wrong person!" "Oh, I see. And after all everyone has suffered from him, you're saying we should just shrug it off even if he does get good?!" Brian asked disgustedly. Christine glared at him. "I'm saying that everyone deserves a chance at redemption! Have you really forgotten...how even a little love can make a big difference for someone?"

"Oh, please! Myotismon had plenty of chances all the time before you came here! Why didn't he change THEN?! Huh?!" Mimi demanded to know. "BECAUSE nobody gave him a reason to! Nobody gave him a chance! Everybody took one look at him, and they judged him before they even knew him: 'AAH! Help! Run! It's a vampire!'!" "Uh, DUUUH! With good reason!" T.K. pointed out, "Vampires are KILLERS! There have never been any records of nice ones! They slowly kill the living to sustain themselves! How can we not fear that?!" "We have every right to!" Wizardmon declared firmly, "As I see it, the best thing to do is to raise security measures. And in the case Myotismon does turn up, we'll have to see if we can trap him somehow...and that's when we kill him!"

Christine gasped loudly. "NO!" she cried, "No! Whatever you do, please don't kill him!" The others looked at her, stunned. "Wha...and just why should we not do that?!" Jijimon asked. "Well...uh..." Christine struggled for a while to find words. If she said she was in love with Myotismon, who knew how the others would react? Then she thought of what to say. "E...even if he IS guilty of crimes, we still shouldn't just go and kill him! He should be fairly tried in a court of law!" "FAIRLY?!" shouted Joe, "After how he has FAIRLY reacted to anyone who pleaded for mercy?!" "YES! Why are you talking like an idiot?! Nobody showed mercy to HIM!" Christine yelled. "And what makes you think he's gonna sit still for a trial, huh?!" Gomamon asked in anger. "Oh, for pity's sake! There's gotta be some way to restrain him!" Christine shot back. She looked at the two Gatomon. "Why, one of you could Digivolve and use the Heaven's Charge power to restrain him, right?" "And who's to say he wouldn't break free of that? We don't know the full extent of his powers!" Angelina argued. "She's got a point there. And you certainly wouldn't restrain ME! Any chance I got, I'd kill him!" Gatomon said angrily.

"Listen to what you're saying, guys!" Christine shouted, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're going against our group's peacekeeping ways!" "CHRISTINE!" cried Jijimon in exasperation. There was a pause. Then Jijimon sighed and said in a softer tone, "My dear...I know this is difficult for you. I know that I have told you that we do not like to fight except necessary. But whether we like it or not, a necessary time has come. Myotismon will destroy all of us, you included. His powers are very possibly so great, that we cannot take chances. He must be eliminated."

Christine gritted her teeth in fury. "You guys are so stubborn! What you want is nothing more than petty murder...and I WANT NO PART OF IT!"

And with that, Christine stormed off to her room.

* * *

That night, Christine paced around her room in her white silk nightgown and robe and fluffy white bunny slippers. She felt a mixture of feelings: anger at other Digimon and her fellow Tamers for not listening to reason, sadness for Myotismon, and fear that she might not be able to protect him. Tears stung her eyes. Physical pain she could manage, but emotional pain was another story.

There was a light knocking on the door. "Christine?" came Sora's voice. Christine walked to the door and opened it. In came Sora and Kari. "Hey." Sora greeted softly, "We just wanted to try and help you." Christine shook her head. "I don't see how that's possible...unless you've thought about the things I said." "No, we get what you said. It's just that...well...all that just isn't going to work this time." Sora explained, "Just think about it for a moment: what about all those terrorists who attacked New York and even attacked people from their own countries? Could we have just captured them? No. They were WAY too dangerous." "Yeah, those meanies Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein..." Kari began. "Um, actually Hussein was put on trial and was sentenced to death." Sora pointed out. "Oh...right. Well, if you ask me, I think it was a miracle that we were able to capture him!" said Kari. Then she continued to Christine, "Okay, maybe you're thinking of that 'comparing apples to oranges' bit. But I'm afraid that's just really not true. With the kind of reputation Myotismon has, it just seems hopeless to try and just capture him and put him on trial. Even if we could do that, who knows how many innocent lives would be lost? Could...could that really be worth it?"

Christine could not believe her ears. Her lips trembling, she looked at the girls in great disbelief. Suddenly, she discovered that her legs were losing support of her. Overcome by sadness and disbelief, Christine dropped to her knees next to her bed, buried her face in her arms, and the tears that had been stuck in her eyes found their way out. Kari looked at Christine with great concern. "Christine?" she asked worriedly while reaching out to her. But Sora calmly stopped Kari. "Leave her alone." she said gently, "This is hard for her to take in right now. She just needs some time."

As the girls turned to go, Sora said, "Sooner or later, you'll understand why we have to take the path we propose, Christine. Now you go ahead and have a good cry and then a good sleep. Good night." "Good night, Christine. We love you." Kari smiled. Then she and Sora walked away and gently shut Christine's bedroom door, leaving Christine to her tears.


	9. Beauty and the Beast - or Not

**Chapter 8**

 **Beauty and the Beast - or Not**

Christine cried bitterly and did not think she could stop. Seriously? Comparing Myotismon to terrorists? Those people hadn't committed their atrocities because they had a heartbreaking past. No way. THEY had done what they did just because they were taught to hate those who were supposedly inferior to them. Was Myotismon anything like that? Absolutely not! And surely any sacrifice was worth it to fairly try someone...and to give that someone a chance at redemption. After all, sometimes sacrifices had to be made for the greater good. But no. The rest of Christine's friends didn't seem to care about any of that one bit! And Christine began to wonder if she could even call them her friends. With all these things running through her mind, Christine stayed kneeling over her bed with her arms burying her face and her tears seeming to have no intention of stopping.

A clock struck midnight. And then, a haunting voice floated through the shadows to the girl's ears. "Why, whatever is this?" it asked, "I'm not certain that tears suit the face of such a beautiful young lady." Christine looked up. She could see no one, but was convinced that she had heard someone speaking. "Who's there?" she called softly, "Who's speaking to me?" "It's all right, my dear. 'Tis only I...an old friend of yours." Christine's face brightened. "Myotismon!" she exclaimed quietly. "Come, my dear one. Dry your tears and come to me. Once we are together again, there will be no need to weep." the voice responded gently. Christine looked around. "Where are you?" she asked, "I can hear you, but I can't see you."

A green portal giving of an unearthly glow opened up in the room. "Step through this gateway..." the voice instructed, "...and then you will find me." Carefully listening to make sure no one was around, Christine quietly approached the glowing portal and stepped through it...

* * *

It was dark and cold in Nightmare Castle, and Christine couldn't help but feel some fear. But she wasn't going to give in. She wanted to see her old friend again. And somehow, she would tell Myotismon that she was feeling deeper about him...that she loved him! First things first, however...Christine had to find Myotismon.

She was about to call out for him, but the sight and sounds of a flock of bats...the very ones she and Angelina had seen in Myotismon's throne room...stopped her words in their tracks! All she could get out was a shocked and rather unnerved cry as she shrank back and began panting fearfully. Christine loved bats...but not if they posed a threat to her!

Then the voice of Myotismon came drifting through the darkness again. "Be gentle with her, my pets." it ordered, "We must be absolutely sure to make her feel welcome here." One of the bats flitted up to Christine. Summoning any courage she could, Christine forced herself to look at the little creature and slowly reach her hand out toward it. Curiously, the little bat came closer to Christine's hand and began to sniff her fingers. Then it began to lick them like a puppy. At that, Christine calmed down some, for she thought it was just precious. "Why, thank you, sweet baby." she said affectionately, "Do my fingers need kisses? I had no idea."

One by one, the other bats flew carefully towards Christine so as not to frighten her. Soon, Christine was surrounded by bats sniffing her with precious sniffing noises and giving her kisses with their little tongues. Christine looked her new little friends in awe, speaking with a cutesy tone of voice, "Ohh, hello, sweet babies...aren't you just precious? Yes, you are...yes, you are! Hello!"

Myotismon's voice was heard again. "Excellent, my darlings. You have earned the girl's trust. Now...guide her to me."

Then another sound came into Christine's hearing: pipe organ music. She perked up at the sound of it and recognized the tune as the toccata from "Suite Gothique". Perhaps Myotismon was where it was coming from, she thought. As if in response to her thoughts, the bats squeaked while flying ahead of Christine and began hovering at the great staircase to the throne room. "You guys want me to follow you up the stairs...to your master? Is he where the music is coming from?" Christine asked the bats. The bats responded with excited squeaks and quick, little wing flaps. Christine smiled, positive that meant "yes". "Okay." she said, and lifted her gown enough to make room for her feet. Then she followed the bats up the cold, torch-lit, stone stairs.

Soon, Christine found herself at another familiar sight: the massive doors to the throne room. At this point, the bats moved aside to let her through. "Ah...thank you, little buds." Christine said sweetly, "You've been real sweeties." Then she pushed back her honey-golden hair and pushed open one of the doors.

The music sounded thundering as Christine entered the room. But she only cringed a little, for she had a liking of creepy pipe organ music. Christine stepped in further, and spotted Myotismon at the organ. As she listened to him play, she was enamored at how skilled he was. _Hmmm...Dad, no offense to you, but...I think you'd meet your match._ Christine thought. Then she wondered _Okay...now what? Should I say something? Or wait for him to stop playing and applaud? Or...will he discover I'm here courtesy of extrasensory perception?_

As it turned out, it was the third option, for Myotismon had nearly come to the end but stopped short. There was a moment of silence. Then he spoke as he rose from the organ. "Welcome back, Christine. How wonderful to have you back. Do make yourself at home." Christine's heart jumped a little as Myotismon turned to face her with a sweep of his cape, but it didn't take long for her to relax. She was just happy to see her friend again. Then Myotismon extended a hand to the girl, saying, "Come to me, child. By all means, fear me...but not too much, please."

With no hint of fear or discomfort, Christine walked up to the vampire and embraced him. "I missed you, Myotismon!" she said with joy, "I waited for you each night. But you never came." Myotismon frowned sadly. "Oh, I am so sorry, my beautiful princess. I wanted to come. But sadly, I was held back by some important business that needed to be taken care of." He paused to smile, then said, "Oh, Christine, I've missed you so much!" The two embraced each other snugly again. Then Christine smiled. "Well...I guess it doesn't really matter. We're together now, and THAT'S all that matters, right?" "I do believe you are right." Myotismon replied, leaning over to Christine and kissing her cheek. Then he asked her, "Shall we dance?" Christine was delighted. "I'd LOVE to!" she said happily, grinning from ear to ear.

Myotismon turned toward the organ and snapped his fingers. At this, the organ began to play a song. Christine recognized it as the waltz/pipe organ remix of "Grim Grinning Ghosts". _Well, well...I've heard of a player piano, but a player organ...cool! What will they think of next?_ she wondered. Then Myotismon bowed to Christine in a gentlemanly manner. She softly giggled as she curtseyed back to him. Next, Myotismon took hold of Christine's hand and with his other arm embraced her about her waist. She did the same, and the two of them began to slowly dance ballroom style. After a bit, the music picked up in speed. So the two friends picked up speed as well. Gracefully, they spun around while gliding across the floor like two bubbles. At two points in the music, Christine stopped to bend over backwards so Myotismon could dance-dip her.

Soon the music began to play at a slower tempo again. At this point, Myotismon gently pulled Christine closer to himself, gently pressed her head sideways against his chest, and rested his head on hers. Christine certainly wasn't expecting that, but it pleased her greatly. Despite how happy she was, she couldn't help but wonder: how was she going to confess her feelings to Myotismon?

Finally, the song came to an end. Christine and Myotismon began to laugh in happiness. "That was fun!" Christine grinned. "Wasn't it now?" Myotismon agreed, "And I must say, you are one fabulous dancer!" Christine blushed. "Aw, shucks! You are, too!" "It's as though we were made for each other...Beauty and the Beast!" Myotismon added. And the two laughed some more. But then, Christine's laughter died down, and Myotismon saw a sad frown come onto her face. "Why, what's this?" he asked, gently touching her cheek, "And...why were you weeping so?"

Christine sighed sadly. "Oh, Myotismon...my friends...well, I THOUGHT they were my friends, but I'm not so sure now. They're not happy with me inviting you to join us. And they..." Christine found it hard to finish her sentence out of her sadness. Tears welled up in her eyes as she tried to continue, "...they say you're a threat and dangerous. And they...they say you should be lured into a trap...and killed!"

Christine could not hold back her tears at this point. Myotismon was stunned. "You are certain of this?!" he asked her. Christine slightly choked on a sob as she nodded. "I tried to convince them otherwise...but they wouldn't listen to me." The vampire glared. "I should have known!" he fumed, "The SAME curse I've put up for all my days: 'Oh, no! Run! It's a homicidal, maniacal, vicious vampire! We'll all die!' You know, perhaps they SHOULD kill me! Put me out of my misery! Then everyone can stop being afraid of me!" He paused and was quiet for a moment, then sighed. "But...for some reason...I have doubts that said thing would be any help." "That makes sense to me." Christine told him, "Not everyone is afraid of you. I'm not."

Myotismon looked at the girl for a while pensively. Then he said, "But you are afraid, my dear one. Your heart is beating at a quicker pace. Even if it did not, I would know you were frightened, for I can sense fear." Christine bowed her head, feeling upset with herself. "And yet...you hide it well." Myotismon continued, at what point Christine looked up, "At no time when you have been with me...have I ever seen you show signs of your fear."

Christine stood quietly for a moment, then smiled. "I wish that fear wasn't there." she said, "True, I can really enjoy being being afraid sometimes. But this time...no...I don't want any fear. You don't deserve it. I never thought you did. Yeah...when I first met you, I didn't think you were a homicidal, maniacal, vicious vampire." Myotismon looked a bit surprised. "Truly?" he inquired. Christine nodded. "Yes. I felt fear welling inside me, but I could not understand why. Vampires don't bother me. When you kissed my hand, that was SO wonderful! Your kiss was icy cold, but I felt warm! And a homicidal, maniacal, vicious vampire...no, that's not you. Basically, you're scary...and yet you're not."

Myotismon tilted his head aside in curiosity. Then he came closer to the girl, smiling and taking her in his arms. "Then what am I?" he asked her. Christine readied herself. This was it! She was going to tell him. Summoning all her courage, Christine smiled and gently answered, "You're beautiful." Myotismon blinked and looked at Christine in surprise. No one had ever told him THAT...at least not that HE could remember! Somehow, he managed to say, "Beautiful?...truly you think that?" Christine nodded, saying, "Yes. When I first saw you, I couldn't take my eyes off you. You were the most beautiful creature I'd ever seen." Myotismon tilted his head curiously again, but he didn't lose his smile. "Is that right?" "Yes, really. But there's more. I..." She sighed. "...how do I say this?" Christine paused to ponder, then swallowed and continued, "I feel that you and I really need each other. Okay, maybe I can't relate to ALL the pain you've been through. But there is some that I can. We both understand rejection, and I'm the only one who has accepted you."

Myotismon shook his head and softly chuckled. "Christine...what is it you are trying to tell me? And don't try and deny it. I can tell that something is on your mind." Christine smiled and gave Myotismon a hug. Then she looked at him and said, "I love you."

At that, Myotismon's blue eyes widened, and he was more than a little surprised. For a moment, it seemed as if he could say nothing at all. Finally, all he could manage to say was, "I beg your pardon?" Christine nodded. "Yes." she answered tenderly, "I'm in love with you. Who better to spend your life with than someone who understands what pain you've been through...whose life you can touch by being able to relate to the emotional pain he or she has suffered from...and showing that person that he or she is NOT alone? For so long, I searched for that special someone. And now...it seems so clear to me...that I've found him."

Myotismon could hardly believe what he was hearing. "You are serious about this, are you not?" he asked Christine, who responded saying, "I sure am." Myotismon thought for a short moment. "Hmm...perhaps we would be a fine couple...let's have a look, shall we?" He led Christine to a tall mirror on one of the walls. "What do you think?" Myotismon asked, "Do we make a lovely couple? Beauty and the Beast?" Christine was not surprised to see that only she was reflected there. _This mirror must be for other Digimon who live here._ she thought. But aloud, she said, "Oh, yeah...we definitely do. There's uh...there's just one problem with your theory about us being 'Beauty and the Beast'." "Oh? And what might that be?" Myotismon inquired. Christine turned to him with a smile and said, "You're no beast. No...you are much to beautiful to be a beast. You're a...oh, let me think now..." Her face brightened. "You're an angel! That's it! You're my Angel of Darkness! How's that?"

Myotismon laughed and hugged Christine. "I rather like that! And you...you shall by my Moon and Stars." "Oooh, nice!" Christine exclaimed delightedly. "You know, I don't think it will ever cease to amaze me...how you conceal the fear in you...and how much fondness for me you show." Myotismon continued. "Well, like I told DemiDevimon, that's part of my job as a Digimon Tamer: to befriend other Digimon." Christine replied, "In addition, I'm not going to worry about any fear of you, nor give into it...and I don't have to. It's perfectly okay to be scared, but I know that I never have to let it take control. As a matter of fact, it can fun to be scared sometimes. And I'm convinced that this is one of those times."

At this point, Myotismon gently turned Christine so that her back was against his front. "In that case..." he said in a haunting voice while wrapping her in his cape, "...and if you do love me...you certainly won't mind if I...refresh myself. Our dancing has left me a little...dry." He inhaled slowly as he caressed Christine's throat. "Human blood always seems to taste better...with just a dash of fear in it."

Christine heard Myotismon give off a chilling hiss. The next thing she knew, there was a small, stabbing pain in her throat. But instead of crying out, Christine only let out a little gasp and swooned in great pleasure. Again Myotismon was feeling the child's warm blood, this time seasoned with fear, running down his throat...and enjoying every moment of it! But Christine never so much as once showed any sign of fighting back or discomfort. "Mmmm...are you biting me?" she moaned contentedly, "It's okay. Go ahead. I...I don't care..."

Having drank his fill of Christine's blood, Myotismon gently lifted her in his arms and carried her to the bed. "Now then...I think it's time you had some sleep. You're so very beautiful...and sleep will certainly help you stay that way." Christine nodded, for dancing with Myotismon, her lack of sleep and loss of some blood had made her tired. "Thank you. I couldn't agree more." she said sleepily.

Carefully, Myotismon laid Christine down in bed and pulled the covers up to her breasts. "There we are. Now, will there be anything else you require, Christine?" he asked, gently stroking Christine's head. "Thank you, but getting to be with you again is all I could want right now." Christine paused to frown. "I just wish...there were some way I could convince my fellow Tamers that you're not a threat." "You need not fret about that, my dear one. I'm sure that...both you and I can come with some way to show them they having nothing to dread about." Myotismon assured. At that, Christine's smile came back. "Yes..." she agreed, "...we can think of something...if we put our heads together."

As she spoke, Myotismon leaned down and tenderly kissed her forehead. Christine softly inhaled in delight. "Thank you, Myotismon." she said softly, "I think I can definitely sleep now." Myotismon smiled. "Think nothing of it, child. Now you just relax, and I shall stay with you until you fall asleep."

And Myotismon began to sing a beautiful lullaby with the most beautiful, haunting tenor voice Christine had ever heard. The song went like this:

Sleep, my sweet child.

The night is upon us.

But there is no need to fear.

Your Angel will hold you, embrace you and love you.

Dread nothing. I will be near.

Nothing shall harm you or snatch you away.

Just let them try if they dare!

Your Angel will watch you, guard you, protect you.

Rest now in my tender care.

It wasn't long at all before Christine's brain waves hit the delta level and she was sleeping like a baby. Myotismon smiled down on her...but this time, it wasn't a friendly smile! He chuckled wickedly. "Yes...sleep, my child. Sleep and dream of what you spoke of: a lifetime of love spent with me...which would NEVER exist! Do not think you can make a fool of me! You are like all the rest! Oh, but you'll pay for it...and sleep permanently!"

Christine did not respond as Myotismon began to loudly laugh with evil laughter, for she was too deeply asleep. The poor girl had no awareness that her loving attitude had not touched the vampire's heart...and she was in great danger!


	10. Assault of the Shadows

**Chapter 9**

 **Assault of the Shadows**

When Christine awoke the next morning, she found herself in her room at Digimon Tamers HQ. _Hmm...Myotismon must have used some vampiric teleportation power to send me here in the morning...not that anything's wrong with that._ For a while, Christine sat in her bed recalling the wonderful time she'd had with Myotismon. It was WAY better than the first, she thought. _And so he bit me. So what?_ Again, that did not trouble Christine at all. She was simply happy that she had gotten to spend more time with Myotismon...and it seemed to her that she had found her prince!

A chatter of worried voices broke Christine's dreamy state.

"Oh, this is terrible!"

"We're in the meat grinder NOW!"

"Where's Christine?!"

"Could she have been kidnapped?!"

"There certainly weren't any intruder alerts! What could have happened?!"

Curious and concerned, Christine got up and went to find the others. When she found them, they were all in a panicked state. "Wh...what's the matter everyone? What is it? I'm right here." she said.

Lois and Dan gasped in great surprise and hugged their daughter tightly. "Christine! Where have you been?!" exclaimed Jijimon. "We looked all over for you last night! What happened to you?!" Wizardmon added. "Please don't scare me like that again!" begged Angelina. "It's okay, guys." Christine assured, "Nothing bad happened to me. Myotismon called for me last night."

A ton of shocked cries.

"Myotismon KIDNAPPED you?!" cried Erin. "No! I went to him on my own free will!" Christine said in an irritated manner. Cries that were more shocked filled the room. "Christine, are you...?!" Brian was too shocked to finish. "You did WHAT?!" yelled the other DigiDestined. "Yes. And I had a wonderful time with him! We danced...to music from a player pipe organ! Oh, yes! Myotismon has a pipe organ, Dad! I wish you could see it!" Christine said happily. Christine's father shook his head. "I think I would rather see one that belongs to someone I could trust around my children!" "We received no alerts of invasion! How did he get in here?!" Rex demanded. "He didn't. He sent a portal to his castle to my room so I could get there. And like I said, I had such a happy time with him!" Christine answered.

Gatomon's eyes narrowed to slits. "Oh, yeah?! Then how do you explain those other puncture wounds on your neck?!" she asked angrily. "AAH! NOT AGAIN!" screamed Joe. Christine put her hands on her hips. "Oh, my gods!" she said in a very annoyed tone, "IT'S...NOTHING! All he did was bite me! He did not do any major damage to me!" Then she lowered her voice, saying, "And besides, I...I didn't care at all. I was aware of it this time, but I didn't care. It was so...so...pleasant. I loved it!" "Okay, I'm not surprised at that. Women are known to pleasurably swoon when bitten by male vampires." Izzy pointed out, "But that still doesn't make the issue better. The point is, you've got a killer vampire chasing you who is obviously attempting to turn you into one of the Un-Dead!" "Oh, for Arcee's sake! I feel fine!" Christine argued, "If he wanted me to be a vampire, he would have taken a whole lot more from me!"

"Why can't we make you understand, Christine?! Myotismon is dangerous!" Mimi cried. "Why can't I make YOU understand?! You can't just judge him before you know him like that!" Christine shot back. "We DO know about him! He is a KILLER!" Palmon shouted. "Tonight, we are sending security to guard you as you sleep! And that is the end of it!" Jijimon said firmly.

* * *

That night, guards were posted at Christine's bedroom at the order of Jijimon. But as they stood there, the voice of Myotismon came drifting out of the darkness with a sinister chuckle. "Do you truly think all this will stop me? You are pathetic!"

Suddenly, the guards began to feel a great drowsiness come over them. They tried to fight it, but could not. "Sleep...go to sleep...you will not keep this fair maiden from me...now sleep..." the voice said hauntingly.

As soon as the guards were out, the glowing portal appeared in Christine's room again. "All right, my dear Christine." said Myotismon's voice, "It is safe now. You may come to me." Again, Christine listened carefully to make sure no one else was around, then slipped into the portal. She was very happy and anxious to find out what a wonderful time she would have with Myotismon this time around.

* * *

This time, Christine was not frightened at all when Myotismon's bats came to greet her. When Christine came to the throne room, she again found Myotismon at the organ. After an embracing greeting, he told her, "I have heard the song you sang about love. Oh, yes...I have been watching you." Christine shrugged. "That's okay. You're someone I can trust." Myotismon chuckled, then continued, "Well...your voice is VERY beautiful. And it would please me so to hear it again." "Thank you. Okay." Christine agreed happily, "Anything in particular?" Myotismon shook his head. "Not exactly. I shall continue playing, and you just sing with the music...just whatever comes to your mind. Would you?" Christine smiled. "I'd be happy to. This should be a lot of fun!" So Myotismon began playing the organ again. And as he did, Christine simply vocalized along with the music, singing whatever notes she thought seemed to fit.

"Excellent!" Myotismon exclaimed when they were finished, "Your voice is marvelous, Christine!" Christine blushed. "Aww, thanks. And I have to say, YOU are one skilled organist! Were my father to play against you, he'd meet his match, I think!" "Ahh, thank you, my sweet child. Of course, even having so much skill doesn't make playing undemanding at times." Christine grinned. "Well...just in case playing has drained you..." she said, and proceeded to pat her throat. Myotismon grinned mischievously. "How ever did you guess?" There was a sinister tone in his voice, but Christine wasn't alarmed. She shrugged and answered, "I figured."

Myotismon did not lose his sinister grin as he closed in on Christine with his cape spread out. Christine did not move nor resist. _Yes! Do it!_ she thought. "You are too kind!" Myotismon said hauntingly as he wrapped his arms and cape around the girl. The vampire hissed sinisterly as he leaned towards Christine's throat and bared his fangs. It wasn't long before Christine felt the same little sting in her throat. But again, instead of screaming in pain, she only softly cried, "Oh!" and began swooning and moaning contentedly as Myotismon drank her blood.

Afterwards, Myotismon again put Christine to bed and sang her to sleep. But all the while, he was thinking of when he would quit this charade and REALLY feed on her!

* * *

The next morning, when Christine came out of her bedroom, she heard and came across more panicked conversation. Those who had been guarding her explained about the uncontrollable drowsiness that had overtaken them. "Oh, this guy is good!" Brian said with a little annoyance in his voice, "But I'm gonna keep my friend safe somehow!" Christine sighed and face-palmed. "I'm not in any danger, Brian." "You ARE SO!" Brian shot back, "I can clearly see the pricks on your throat!" "That settles it! I say we go on the hunt for Myotismon!" Wizardmon declared angrily. "You know we must prepare well in order to do so." Jijimon told him.

Wizardmon lowered his eyes. "I know... and it may take until tomorrow if not longer to do so." "Which means...we'll have to go through who knows how many more nights of Myotismon calling for Christine!" Gabumon said worriedly. "I know what we'll do!" Brian piped up, "I read this in a story once about a guy who faced a vampire cat who was attacking a prince. It also used drowsiness on those guarding the prince. But the hero of the story pricked himself with a knife to keep himself awake and catch the cat, who would leave and not attack. This eventually paid off, and the cat was destroyed. I have a penknife I can use."

Jijimon and Wizardmon looked at each other for a while. Then Jijimon said, "If you feel this will help, do as you will. But know that we do not take a liking to you hurting yourself for Christine." Brian shook his head. "Your concern is appreciated, but my pain is meaningless! I'd DIE for her! She is my best friend, and I'm NOT losing her!"

* * *

That evening, Brian began to sterilize his knife. "Brian, you are seriously taking this too far!" Christine said angrily. "NO!" Brian snapped, "YOU are the one who will not listen to reason! I am staying right here with you, and the first chance I get, I am staking that vampire like there's no tomorrow!" Christine scoffed sharply and rolled her eyes. "You're insane! You can't take him on by yourself!" "Oh, no?! WATCH me! I feel like I could take him down with my bare hands!" Brian spat back.

"And DON'T you go to him, Christine!" Lois ordered, "I don't care what sweet things he says to you! You stay right here!" "But, Mom..." Christine snarled. "NO buts! We've been over this! Myotismon is not safe to be arou...!"

But Lois didn't get to finish her sentence as alarms begin shouting out their call of danger. Just then, Joe ran into the room screaming, "ATTACK! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK! INTRUDERS!"

* * *

Rushing outside and to the front entryway of File City with the others, Christine saw a horrifying sight. A great darkness was enveloping the surrounding area as it came closer and closer to the city. Coming with it was a great swarm of dark, wicked looking Digimon.

Then looking up into the sky, Christine noticed another sight over the big army: a black, gothic looking carriage with bat designs on the wheels, driven by Phantomon and pulled by a Devidramon...a dragon-like Digimon with fiery red eyes, thick, black leathery skin, a white skull design on either shoulder, and black demon wings.

Then the back of the carriage opened, and a coffin...the very one Christine and Angelina had seen in Myotismon's throne room...slid out and began to descend towards the ground. As it did, it split open to reveal Myotismon all wrapped up in his cape. As he gently alighted on the ground, cries of fear came up from Christine's friends.

"Oh, NO! We didn't need to take the battle to Myotismon! He brought it to US!" cried Patamon. "That's...Myotismon?!" Kari asked, her little voice trembling greatly. "UGH! He's HIDEOUS!" Lois cried in disgust.

DemiDevimon flapped up near his master and glared at the onlookers. "HEY! You'd better watch that tongue of yours, lady, or he's gonna have to rip it out! And for the 4-1-1 of ALL of ya, it's LORD Myotismon!" DemiDevimon scolded.

Now Myotismon began to laugh. "Fools! Did you truly think you could hide from me?! There are none who can as I take vengeance! Oh, you've been quite the troublemakers building up an army who could stand against me and ruin my revenge! But now, thanks to your dear Christine, I know everything about you and your base that I need to know. And finally, all who scorned and would scorn me shall taste my superior powers and the might of my army...and none shall live to tell the tale! Ohh, the mere thought of it is making me feel a little batty!"

No sooner had he said this, Myotismon threw open his cape crying out, "GRISLY WING!" At this, a huge flock of bats swarmed out of his chest and attacked the Digimon Tamers' group!

Cries of terror and pain shot up from the victims. "AAAH! Too...strong!" screamed Wizardmon. "Fall back! FALL BACK! Retreat and regroup!" yelled Brian. At this command, everyone ran back into the city to bulk up for a big fight. "YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE FROM ME!" cried Myotismon in a rage. He turned to his army. "Swarm the city and kill all who resist! Let NONE survive! But Christine I will deal with myself! Find her and bring her to me alive!" he commanded.

* * *

"Hurry, Christine! Make me Digivolve! I'll have a better advantage!" cried Angelina. Christine nodded. "Don't have to tell ME twice!" she replied. And with those words, she pulled out her Digivice and activated it.

Angelina was shortly surrounded by bright light and spinning around in the process of Digivolution. She shouted, "GATOMON DIGIVOLVE TO...ANGEWOMON!"

When the process was complete and the light cleared, Angelina no longer looked like a little cat. Instead, Christine saw the figure of a tall, curvy, beautiful female angel with pale skin, golden hair, and blue eyes. A white body suit, grey twin belts on the waist and right leg, and a golden breastplate covered her body. A single white glove and a pink sash adorned her arms, a silver Valkyrie-style helmet rested on her head, and eight glistening wings protruded from her back.

Angelina took hold of Christine's hand. "All right! Just stay with me! I'll guard you with my life if I have to...and that is a promise! Come!"

Quickly, the girls raced out to defend the city and its inhabitants in any way they could.


	11. Truth and Tragedy

**Chapter 10**

 **Truth and Tragedy**

All over the city, there were Digivolutions galore as the DigiDestined activated their Digivices and their partners powered up.

"AGUMON DIGIVOLVE TO...GREYMON!"

"GABUMON DIGIVOLVE TO...GARURUMON!"

"TENTOMON DIGIVOLVE TO...KABUTERIMON!"

"PALMON DIGIVOLVE TO...TOGEMON!"

"GOMAMON DIGIVOLVE TO...IKKAKUMON!"

"PATAMON DIGIVOLVE TO...ANGEMON!"

"BIYOMON DIGIVOLVE TO...BIRDRAMON!"

"GATOMON DIGIVOLVE TO...ANGEWOMON!"

Brian jumped up on Rex's back. "All right, gang!" he shouted, "Let's show Old Fang Face what we're made of!"

* * *

Fast as she could, Angelina flew through File City holding tightly to Christine's hand. As much as she cared about the girl, Angelina could not help but think NOW will you believe us, Christine?!

Then... _Oh, gods, no!_ Christine thought in a panic. Right in front of the girls was a big DarkTyrannomon who didn't look the least bit friendly and DID look like he didn't want the girls going anywhere! A savage growl flew from his large, sharp-fanged mouth as he lunged forward for Christine!

"OH, no you don't! DIVINE KICK!" cried Angelina, and drove both her feet into the monster, causing it to stumble back.

As much as Angelina didn't like it, she knew what she had to do next. "I'll hold him off, Christine! You get to safety! And hurry!" "NO! I can't just leave you, Angelina!" Christine cried. "You MUST! It's YOU he wants, not me! I don't like this any more than you do, but it has to be done! Go! Hurry!" Christine looked at her friend in despair for a moment. Then she begged, "PLEASE be careful! I don't want to lose you!"

Then without wasting another second, Christine dashed off to find a safe place.

* * *

Christine's heart was pounding and her legs were racing like pistons as she ran through File City, hoping to find any place safe. But at this point, she had her doubts that such a place existed. And she couldn't help but shake the feeling that trouble was just waiting to pounce on her.

Then... _Oh, my GODS!_

As if right on cue and in response to her thoughts, no sooner had Christine rounded a corner, she stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes widening and her jaw dropping. For there in her way were DemiDevimon and Phantomon, both of them chuckling wickedly!

"Red light!" DemiDevimon clowned. Then he lightly cackled and said, "Way to fall right into the boss's trap, kid!" Phantomon chuckled some more. "Well, well...if it isn't the Maiden of Love. Such a pity for you...you are a threat to my master!"

"Wha...why? And...what's going on here? Why is Myotismon doing this?" Christine asked. "It is rather simple, child. Lord Myotismon wishes to take vengeance on those who scorned him. Moreover, the more this little 'peacekeeping' group of yours has, the bigger a threat they could be to Myotismon before he is fully prepared to take revenge. They may rise up against him and foil him. And unfortunately for you, you are a big threat to his plans because you have been the most successful in recruiting others." Phantomon answered. "Not to mention that you've been a big role model for your pals. And THAT would help THEM get better at recruiting!" added DemiDevimon, "See the problem there?"

Christine felt as if her heart was breaking into who knew how many pieces. Why couldn't her friends have just given Myotismon a chance? Had more than just her showed him kindness, perhaps he wouldn't be doing this. And it became clear to her as to what DemiDevimon and Phantomon were saying about her being a threat. Then it hit her...and what did was not pleasant. Christine was still not happy about how her friends did not even want to try and accept Myotismon...but she still didn't want them dead.

The girl sighed and bowed her head. "Take me to him." she said softly.

DemiDevimon and Phantomon were more than a little surprised. "Wha...?!" DemiDevimon cried. "I beg you pardon?!" Phantomon asked in shock. Christine raised her head and nodded. "Take me to your master." she told them, "If he gets me, the Digital World Organization of Peace will lose a very important ally...and they will no longer be in danger." "You mean...you're just givin' up like that?!" DemiDevimon exclaimed. Christine shook her head. "No. 'Give up' is not the right term. I see it as 'heroic sacrifice'."

The two Digimon sneered and chuckled again. "As you wish!" Phantomon told Christine as he began to imprison her in a magical black orb. Just at that moment, Brian and Rex...who was now in the form of MetalGreymon...came around and saw what was happening. "CHRISTINE! REX, WE'VE GOT TO HELP HER!" "We shall, my friend!" Rex said bravely, and was about to charge toward Christine's captors. "No!" Christine called out, "Don't try to save me!" "I'm NOT LOSING YOU, CHRISTINE!" Brian screamed. "NO, BRIAN! Don't you or Rex come here!" Christine called firmly, "Let them take me! If Myotismon gets me, you and the others will live!"

Brian looked at his friend with shock! "You CAN'T be SERIOUS!" he cried. Christine frowned sadly. "I'm sorry, Brian...but I have to do this. If it will save your life...and the lives of all our friends...this must be done. It is me Myotismon wants, not you."

Brian could feel tears in his eyes as Phantomon and DemiDevimon began to depart with their captive. Christine looked sadly at her friend. "I'm sorry, Brian." she said tearfully, "Thank you...thank you for being my friend."

Brian's tears found their way out as he growled in rage and despair...and finally screamed, "CHRISTIIIIIIIIIINE!"

His cry echoed in Christine's mind as she was carried away toward the highest room of Digimon Tamers HQ...and heard Phantomon communicating with his master. "We have the child, my lord. Strangely enough, she simply surrendered to us. We are taking her to the highest room of her organization's headquarters."

* * *

Tears stung Christine's eyes as she watched what looked like a swarm of bats form a portal on the ceiling of the room she stood in. Then Christine swallowed nervously as she saw Myotismon come out of the portal and slowly float down to and alight on the floor...in front of her!

Myotismon began to chuckle maliciously. "Ahh, it is my sweet princess! I cannot help but wonder, though: why have you chosen to surrender yourself to me? Do you know what will happen to you now?"

Christine's lips trembled as she forced herself to speak. "Yes...I do know. You'll take me away. In that way, the Digimon Tamers will take a critical blow in allies and won't be a threat to you anymore. But...if it means I can protect them...I'll do it!"

Myotismon's blue eyes widened in surprise at this. For just a moment, he said nothing. But then, he smiled and chuckled sinisterly. "My, what a thoughtful little girl you are." he told her, "Too bad for you that you'll never get to show such care to your friends again!" "What are you going to do to me?" Christine asked. At that, Myotismon's smile was replaced with a cold, angry glare. "What I wanted to do all along!" he answered in fury, "I'm going to KILL you!"

Christine was hugely shocked and gasped loudly. "WHAT?!" she cried, "Why do you want to kill me?! I love you!" "You little fool!" Myotismon snapped, "Did you really think I believed you?! Did you truly think you could fool me?! Well, you thought WRONG!" Christine shook her head in disbelief. "No...this can't be you...not the one who was so kind to me and gave me food and a place to sleep...and invited me to dance and to sing for him!" "And I hated every moment of it!" Myotismon said angrily, "Yet how well you fell for it! It was all a ruse! Do you see? I PLANNED this all along!" Christine was stunned. "What do you mean you planned it?!" she asked in surprise.

Myotismon grinned wickedly. "Quite simple. I've been here before. Using my otherworldly powers, I was able to slip in here undetected and sabotage the main power system of File City so that the only option to fix it would be the Power Disc of the Ancients! Oh, I've been watching you with the same means. And you were so compassionate, you would SURELY go to Infinity Mountain. And I knew that to get there, you would have to pass through my realm. Somehow, you would end up at Nightmare Castle, I was certain. And what do you know? I was right...and you were so naively compassionate that you gave me information about this place, telling me all I needed to know about its changes over the centuries."

Christine's tears now managed to get out as she responded. "You mean...you used me in your plans of destroying the Digimon Tamers?" Myotismon nodded. "That's right, child. If I had a correct answer prize, I'd give it to you...not that you'd have much use for it. Oh, yes...I was only pretending to show you fondness and kindness...things that none ever showed to ME, nor will anyone EVER!" Christine put her foot down. "That's NOT true!" she contradicted, "I meant all those kind things I said to you! I love you!" "SILENCE!" Myotismon bellowed, "Don't think your lies will trick me! You are lying! All that so-called kindness you showed me was a lie! For centuries have I been plagued by all who met me...with fear, hatred and rejection! If none could accept me before, there is NO possibility that anyone will NOW! And don't you DARE try to say otherwise!"

Now Myotismon's malicious smile came back. "But now..." he gloated, "...thanks to you, I know everything I need to know about the strengths and weaknesses of File City. And with the death of you and the superior development of my powers, the Digimon Tamers organization will fall along with this whole city! Then I shall plunge the whole Digital World into darkness and become its king! Oh, but I won't stop there! No...sooner or later, the human world will meet the same fate! Both worlds will be in my cold, dark grasp forever...and peace will certainly reign...MY kind of peace! Those who scorned and would scorn me will taste my fierce wrath! And even should they plead for mercy...HA! They never showed nor would ever show any to me...and they shall receive the same treatment!"

Myotismon paused to seize Christine. "Well, enough of my monologuing. Time to feed!"

Sheer terror grabbed Christine as Myotismon bared his fangs and savagely hissed! She cried out as she tried to struggle and get free, but Myotismon was stronger than she was! "NO!" she shrieked as Myotismon brought his fangs toward her throat!

CRASH! One of the windows was smashed through, and in flew Kabuterimon and Togemon along with Izzy and Mimi. "NOT SO FAST!" they all yelled, and the children pulled out their Digivices.

"KABUTERIMON DIGIVOLVE TO...MEGAKABUTERIMON!"

"TOGEMON DIGIVOLVE TO...LILLYMON!"

Myotismon did not seem shaken at all. "And just what do YOU plan to do?!" he asked in an unimpressed manner. "Simple! We're gonna kick your butt!" snapped Mimi!

"FLOWER CANNON!" yelled Lillymon as she formed her hands into a geranium shaped cannon and fired a ball of Grass-elemental energy.

"ELECTRO SHOCKER!" shouted MegaKabuterimon. firing a great orb of electricity from his hands.

Again not looking impressed or unnerved, Myotismon simply blew the attacks away from himself and up toward the ceiling creating a huge, gaping hole. Angrily, Lillymon and MegaKabuterimon charged at him, but he used telekinesis to push them back.

Then the vampire grabbed Christine again and flew up through hole in the roof with her. "It's getting a little noisy in here." he told her, "Let's go somewhere quiet."

Shortly afterward, Sora, Joe, and Matt arrived. "We got here as soon as we could!" said Sora, "Where are Christine and Myotismon?!" "They're up on the roof!" cried Izzy, "Hurry! We've mustn't let Myotismon get away!"

* * *

"I can't believe what I just had to put up with! How rude! Children these days!" Myotismon said haughtily. Then he smiled wickedly again while turning to his captive and added, "Now then...where were we before we were so rudely interrupted? Ah, yes...I remember!"

Christine was crying as Myotismon again bared his fangs. "Don't. Please don't...I love you!" she sobbed. "BE QUIET!" snapped Myotismon, "STOP your lying! You are NOT fooling me with your ruses!"

Just as Myotismon was about to lunge for Christine's throat, he noticed a light shining behind him. "NOW what?!" he growled. Angemon had snuck up behind him, his fist glowing. "HAND OF FATE!" he cried, and thrust his fist forward releasing a beam of light. It struck Myotismon, causing him to drop to his knees in pain and lose his grip on Christine...who immediately ran toward the other children and Digimon who were emerging to join the confrontation.

Angemon looked down in anger on his quivering victim. "Have you had enough or do you want some more?!" he demanded to know. Myotismon regained his composure and smirked at his attacker. "Actually, I ought to ask YOU the same question!" he replied smugly. "Oh, yeah?! Try all THIS on for size!" yelled Joe as he, Sora and Matt whipped out their Digivices.

"BIRDRAMON DIGIVOLVE TO...GARUDAMON!"

"IKKAKUMON DIGIVOLVE TO...ZUDOMON!"

"GARURUMON DIGIVOLVE TO...WEREGARURUMON!"

"Everybody! Together! ATTACK HIM!" yelled Joe.

"WING BLADE!" cried Garudamon, firing a shockwave that looked like a fiery red bird.

"WOLF CLAWS!" roared WereGarurumon, slashing his paws across each other and firing a pair of triple shockwaves.

"VULCAN'S HAMMER!" yelled Zudomon, striking his hammer down and releasing a powerful electric wave.

Then Lillymon, Angemon and MegaKabuterimon joined in.

"FLOWER CANNON!"

"ELECTRO SHOCKER!"

"HAND OF FATE!"

But everyone was in for a shock when Myotismon pushed back and cancelled out all the attacks, laughing wickedly. "Is that truly the best you can do?!" he asked, "I'm just getting warmed up! How boring! Give me a challenge if you would be so kind!"

"WE'LL give you a challenge, Fang Face!" Brian's voice shouted in anger. Christine looked aside and saw Angewomon carrying Kari, along with two Greymon who also had human partners...Brian and Tai! Then Brian added, "Christine is my best friend, and I'm NOT losing her!" "Quick, guys! We've gotta power up!" cried Tai. "We're on it!" declared Greymon, who then began transforming with Rex and both of them shouting:

"GREYMON DIGIVOLVE TO...METALGREYMON!"

Fast as she could, Angewomon set Kari down, then flew towards Myotismon bringing her hands together and spreading them apart, shouting, "HEAVEN'S CHARM!" as a pink cross of light erupted from her hands. Along with her, the two MetalGreymon each shouted, "GIGA BLASTER!" as they fired twin missiles at Myotismon. But once again, not impressed and smirking maliciously, Myotismon only held out his hands and canceled the attacks dead in their tracks!

"Oh, COME ON!" cried T.K., "How are we supposed to attack him if he keeps blocking all our attacks?!" Hearing this, Myotismon burst into laughter. "YOU FOOLS!" he bellowed, "You can't defeat me so easily!" Then he raised his hands and cried out, "CRIMSON LIGHTING!"

At this command, two streams of blood red lightning shot out of Myotismon's hands. Then he spun around sending it in all the directions of those trying to protect Christine. They tried to dodge and block, but Myotismon was faster than they were! Christine clapped her hands to her mouth in great despair as all her friends stumbled back and cried out from the stinging pain of Myotismon's attack.

"HU HU HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! You're pathetic...ALL OF YOU!" Myotismon ranted. Then he rushed to Christine, took hold of her again, and continued, "And now...you will all witness the demise of your precious little Maiden of Love, and NOTHING is going to stop me!"

"Not so fast!" came a feminine voice. Christine looked up and saw another Angewomon rapidly descending towards everyone...Angelina! "Oh, Angelina! Help me, please!" Christine cried. Quickly, Angelina drove her left foot into Myotismon's face yelling, "HEEL OF JUSTICE!" As Myotismon was knocked fiercely to the floor, he again lost his grip on Christine. Free again, Christine raced to Angelina, who embraced her partner snugly.

As Myotismon regained his composure, Angelina stepped in front of Christine and firmly declared, "I promised Christine that I would guard her with my life if I had to...and I NEVER go back on my word! If you wish to kill her, you must get through me!" Myotismon glared at her. "So be it!" he said fiercely, "That is the final mistake you shall ever make!" "We'll just see about THAT!" Angelina shot back, and spread her arms out, shouting, "HEAVEN...!"

But before she could finish, Myotismon again proved to be faster as he spread out his cape while shouting, "NIGHTMARE CLAW!" A large, black apparition that looked like a ghoulish face shot out of Myotismon's chest and engulfed Angelina! She cried out in pain as every muscle in her body froze and her strength was drained from her! Seeing this, Myotismon grinned maliciously and again threw open his cape while yelling, "GRISLY WING!" Another huge swarm of bats flew rapidly out of his chest and proceeded to bury their victim!

"ANGELINAAAAAAA!" Christine screamed.

Then the bats began to fade away, and everyone finally saw Angelina. Her clothes were shredded, her armor was dented, her hair was a mess, and bleeding scratches covered her skin. She tried to move...but fell to the floor with labored breathing!

"Angelina!" Christine cried again, as she ran up to her friend. She knelt down and lifted the angel's head in her arms. "Angelina?...Angelina?" The Digimon looked up at Christine slowly, still struggling to breathe. "Oh, Christine..." she said weakly, "...I...I'm so sorry...I've failed you." Christine shook her head. "No. Don't talk like that. You'll be fine. Here...let me use a healing spell." Angelina heavily inhaled. "It's too late...I'm sorry...I...I'm done for, Christine..."

Christine was in a panic. "No...no, no, no! Don't you die on me! No, please! Angelina!" she begged. But all her pleas were in vain as Angelina's head dropped, her last breath slipped out, and her body went completely limp. Shortly afterward, she was nothing but a little egg.

Christine was crushed to pieces. "No..." she sobbed, "...no...Angelina..." She could say no more for a time as she sat huddled over the egg, crying bitterly. Then she looked up at Myotismon. "Why?!" she cried in despair, "I never gave you reason not to trust me! Why must it be this way?!"


	12. The Power of Love

**Chapter 11**

 **The Power of Love**

By this time, the rest of Digimon had recovered and closed in on Myotismon in great anger. Angewomon was the first to speak. "Myotismon, you've tried to destroy us, attempted to conquer the Digital World, and murdered Christine's Digimon partner! In doing so, you have ruined the lives of humans and Digimon alike! How can you justify yourself?! TELL ME!" she said fiercely.

"Don't you DARE get high and mighty with me, wretch!" Myotismon spat back, "You should have thought about this before casting me aside like I was nothing and ruining MY life! Quite simply, you played with the fire, and now you will feel the burn! NIGHTMARE...!"

But this time, Angewomon was faster. "HEAVEN'S CHARGE!" she shouted, spreading her arms out and raising them up in unison. At her command, a golden ring of pure light shot up from her arms, widened and released a bright rainbow-colored light. As the light rapidly fell over Myotismon, he cried out in shock and pain. He couldn't move a muscle, and his strength was draining!

"QUICKLY, EVERYONE! Lend your power to Angewomon!" Kari commanded. Immediately, the other Digimon began firing off their attacks.

"GIGA BLASTER!"

"WOLF CLAWS!"

"WING BLADE!"

"FLOWER CANNON!"

"VULCAN'S HAMMER!"

"ELECTRO SHOCKER!"

"HAND OF FATE!"

As all this was going on, Christine was watching intently. She looked at her friends, then back at Myotismon, who appeared to be in great pain and panic. For just a short moment, Christine felt some anger towards him for killing Angelina. But then, she remembered how he had told her of all the ways he had suffered. And she thought of the good times she'd had with him. Myotismon may have not intended for them to be that way, but Christine had been very happy. And would killing Myotismon ease any pain, bring back Angelina, or fix any other damage that had been done? Certainly not...nor did this seem like the way of the Digimon Tamers and the rest of the Digital World Organization of Peace!

Christine looked up. Angewomon was putting all her loaned attack power into a Celestial Arrow attack! Christine gasped in fear! That attack would SURELY be enough to kill Myotismon...maybe even all by itself! And who knew? Maybe the others just wanted to give Myotismon as slow and agonizing a death as they could give him...all in the name of revenge and judgement. Not good!

Adrenaline shot through Christine's body as she leaped to her feet and dashed towards the vampire. "Christine, WAIT!" called Tai. But Christine would not wait. "Please stop! No more fighting!" she begged as she ran towards her friends' captive.

"CELESTIAL ARROW!" shouted Angewomon as she fired a sparkling, golden arrow at Myotismon.

"NOOOOOOO!" Christine shrieked as she dived forward with her arms stretched toward Myotismon. With every last bit of strength she had at that point, Christine pushed Myotismon out of the path of Angewomon's deadly missile.

The next thing the two of them knew, they hit the floor with a splat...with Christine on top of Myotismon. Luckily, she had also managed to dodge Angewomon's attack. She looked down at Myotismon. "Are you all right?" she panted. Myotismon glared and shoved Christine. "Will you get OFF of me?!" he fumed. Christine exhaled. "You're welcome." she said wearily, and began to climb off onto the floor.

"What did you do that for, Christine?!" yelled Angewomon, "I HAD him!" The other Digimon and DigiDestined also began to speak angry words of disapproval.

Quickly, Christine jumped to her feet, moved in front of Myotismon and spread her arms out to the sides. "STOP!" she screamed, "Enough! PLEASE stop! Don't fight anymore! This is not right!" "Christine, are you insane?! You saw what he did to Angelina!" Lillymon fumed. "Killing him won't ease the pain, nor will it fix any other damage that's been done! It will only leave you with regret that will last for the rest of your lives! It could even lead to something worse! This is NOT you, guys! Don't become what you despise!" Christine protested.

"Christine, PLEASE! Myotismon is DANGEROUS! He tried to kill you!" cried Kari. "The reason he's dangerous is because he was judged before he was even KNOWN!" Christine shot back, "Don't you guys see? Myotismon has been without his parents since a VERY young age and been shunned and hated by others all because of what he is! That's why he's so dangerous...because he feels nobody cares about him! If we misjudge the wrong person, he or she can become a great threat! And that is what all of you have done! I tried to tell you about Myotismon before, but you would NOT listen! The reason he attacked us...is because you guys and everyone else never gave him a chance to show who he really was. If we could give him that chance, he wouldn't be so evil."

Matt sighed. "Christine, are you forgetting? People and Digimon have every right to fear Myotismon! He's a VAMPIRE!" "That's no excuse to spit his face like you have!" Christine said firmly, "We're supposed to be a peacekeeping organization! That means trying to get along with EVERYONE no matter what race or species they are...nosferatu included! Tai, you even said it yourself: we're Digimon Tamers, not Digimon Executioners!"

"You are seriously messed up there!" Tai said angrily, "What we're doing is a means of self-defense and defense of others!" "NO, IT'S NOT!" Christine snapped, "This whole thing could have been prevented if you'd just listened to me and given Myotismon a chance! You all brought this down on yourselves, as has anyone else who suffered under Myotismon! He hasn't been kind to others because no one ever gave him reason to! Don't you get it? He's acting so evil...because he's in so much pain."

"I don't see that as any excuse!" Sora fumed, and everyone else agreed. "Then you are fools!" Christine shot back, "It's PLENTY an excuse! If you judge the wrong person before you even know him or her, you're asking for trouble...trouble that could easily have been prevented!" At this point, more tears slid out of Christine's eyes. "Don't do this." she begged, "Don't kill Myotismon. Let him live...please! I'm begging you, have mercy!"

"Oh, the kind of mercy HE'S shown!" fumed Zudomon. "Why should we?!" snapped Brian, "And don't you give us that "tried in court" crap! You give us one good reason other than that as to why we should spare Myotismon!"

Christine quickly prepared herself. She did not know how the others would react to what she was about to say, but she knew she had to say it if it would keep Myotismon alive. "Because I love him!" she declared.

Shocked yells shot up from everyone else, Digimon and DigiDestined alike. Even Myotismon didn't know what to think. "You've seriously got to be KIDDING!" cried MegaKabuterimon. "Be serious!" demanded T.K. "I AM being serious!" Christine said sharply, "Myotismon may or may not believe me by this point, but I don't care! I love him...I don't care what happens to me, even if he decides to kill me out of unbelief...I don't care."

Garudamon shook his head. "How?" he asked, "How can you possibly love him...a vampire...a dangerous creature?" "I'm going to answer that with a couple questions of my own." Christine replied, "How can I not? He and I both know what it's like to be cast aside and hated, all for being different. Why not be bonded to each other when we can share in each other's pain and do what we can to bring joy into each other's lives? It makes perfect sense...and it should."

Angemon looked at the vampire. "Myotismon, is this true? Does Christine love you?" he asked. For a lot of the time, Myotismon had been absolutely silent and looking at Christine in amazement. He wasn't sure how well that was going to let him respond, but it was worth a try. "Well..." he began, "...I didn't think she did. It is true what she has told you about my past. At the very young age of three, and before I Digivolved...I did lose my parents. We were under threat from hunters and trying to escape...and they caught up with us...and we were separated. And yes...I have lived for centuries. But never during that time has anyone bothered to try and get to know me. It's either been running away or shrinking back in fear or rejection...all because I am one of the Un-Dead. Yes, I cannot help but think that perhaps Imperialdramon was unnerved about me, too...otherwise he would have expelled the brats who mocked me all the time. So as I've told Christine, I see no reason to believe why anyone would accept me now after all the painful time I've had."

Myotismon paused to look at Christine. A tear rolled down her cheek as she looked back at him. And how curious...the look in her eyes seemed to have such sympathy and empathy. A pensive look came onto Myotismon's face as he quietly thought for a moment. Then he continued, "However...if she is standing up for me like this...and has even saved my life...I cannot help but wonder..." He looked back at Christine curiously. "Do you really love me?" he asked her. Christine sniffed and nodded. "Of course I do. And I always will. I don't care if you're a vampire. You're beautiful and intelligent and skilled...and no less in need of love than anyone else."

There was silence for a moment. Then Angewomon sighed and said, "Christine...it makes sense that you were made the keeper of the Crest of Compassion. But there is still such a thing as being TOO compassionate. Optimus Prime is known to find that out the hard way...and we don't intend for that to happen to you."

A angry frown came onto Christine's face. "Very well!" she said with a little anger in her voice. Then what she did next again sent Myotismon into a state of amazement. Christine walked up to Myotismon, embraced him and looked back at Angewomon, this time glaring and with more harshness in her voice. "Fire your stupid arrow! But if Myotismon is going down...I'm going down with him!"

More cries shot up from Myotismon's attackers. "Christine, don't be a fool!" cried MetalGreymon. "I'm NOT a fool!" Christine snapped, "YOU are all fools, because YOU were too stubborn to listen to reason! Well, tough luck on YOUR accounts! I love Myotismon! If you want to kill him, you'll have to kill ME!"

The other DigiDestined and Digimon pleaded to Christine to move away, but she would not budge. Even as Angewomon finally readied another Celestial Arrow attack, Christine did not flinch nor show any desire to release Myotismon and step aside. "Oh, Christine, will you PLEASE MOVE?!" Angewomon groaned angrily. "NO!" Christine snapped back, "I'm NOT moving from this spot! Either you spare Myotismon, or you kill both him and me! The decision is yours! What will it be?!"

But the others were in no mood to give into Christine's demand and let her make another heroic sacrifice. They kept on demanding that she move away. Finally, Rex threatened to snatch her away if she didn't move. Seeing that her demand was of no use, Christine looked at Myotismon. "Can you teleport?" she whispered, "If you can, we REALLY need to get somewhere safe." For just a moment, Myotismon seemed hesitant that he could do it in his weakened state. But he said, "I...I'll try. Hold onto me tightly."

"THAT'S IT!" snapped Rex, and started forward to grab Christine and drag her away. But as he did, Myotismon began to glow with a dark aura. It sent out a shockwave that knocked down Christine's friends and stopped them in their tracks. However much they tried, they could not attack Myotismon nor get near him. Then a great sphere of dark energy engulfed Christine and Myotismon, spreading out and pushing down all the more on their opponents.

When the dark orb subsided, Brian and the others began to panic, for neither Christine nor Myotismon were anywhere to be found.


	13. The Rose of Love has Burst into Bloom

**Chapter 12**

 **The Rose of Love has Burst into Bloom**

Christine opened her eyes and looked around. She and Myotismon had ended up in a beautiful woodland glade. In the dim light of dawn, sparkling, crystal dew drops clung to trees with blue-green leaves, pastel green grass and flowers with glossy, transparent petals. A silver mist floated throughout the trees, and nearby was a crystal clear lake that was a shade of blue beyond description. Christine looked around in amazement.

Suddenly, the sound of labored breathing broke her revelry! Christine turned to see poor Myotismon lying on the ground in great exhaustion, for his use of so much power in an already weakened state had been very hard on him.

Rapidly, Christine dashed over to Myotismon and knelt down by him. "Oh, no...no! No, I've already lost one Digimon precious to me! I don't want to lose another!" Christine said tearfully. Then she remembered: healing magic. And this wasn't like any healing spells that would damage the Un-Dead...or so Christine had heard. But since someone she loved was in danger, Christine knew she had to take the chance.

The girl spread her hands over her beloved, closed her eyes, and began to chant for the Healing spell. "I humbly ask thee, Red Alert, Guardian of Health and Medicine, lend me your healing power and let my love be spared."

In answer to Christine's incantation, a bright light came out from her hands and spread over Myotismon. Christine was relieved to see that it did no damage. But she waited a while...and Myotismon showed no sign of recovery nor movement! "No, please!" Christine begged, beginning to cry, "Don't leave me, Myotismon! Please...I need you." When the vampire showed no response, Christine gathered him in her arms and wept all the more as she raised her face to the heavens and began praying. "Optimus Prime...Guardian of Morality and Freedom...if you have any compassion to spare, please give some to me and Myotismon...and let him be spared. Please! I beg of you...help us!"

Christine felt a stirring in her arms. "Christine?" came Myotismon's voice. Christine softly gasped and looked down to see Myotismon slowly lifting his head to see her. She was overjoyed. "Myotismon!" she said in a soft, joyful voice. She paused to help Myotismon sit up. Then he asked her, "What has...what has happened to me? I...I feel better." "I used a healing spell on you." Christine answered, "Optimus Prime and Red Alert have heard my prayers and let you live."

Myotismon was quiet for just a moment. Then he asked Christine, "Why?...Why have you done these things? You've saved my life, you've tried to protect me, and you've been willing to go down with me. Why?" "I told you before. I love you." Christine told him. "But I...I tried to kill you...and I killed your Digimon partner as well...and put all of your friends in danger." Myotismon reminded her. Christine shook her head. "Killing you and hating you will do nothing to mend the wounds you gave me. It will do NOTHING in fixing any damage you did to me or to the others. Petty revenge like that is something I would just end up regretting for the rest of my life. It may even lead to something worse. And besides, Angelina died here in the Digital World, so I know for sure that she will eventually be reborn. So I'll get her back."

There was another moment of silence. Then Myotismon smiled and said, "You're serious about loving me, aren't you?" "Of course I am. It would do no good for me or even you to hate you." Christine replied gently, "And you can love me too. You can love another. You just need to know that the other loves you. All you've needed to know all this time is that someone cared about you...that you meant everything to someone. Someone DOES care, and you DO mean everything to someone...and that someone is me. I see now that this is why destiny brought us together. I don't know why it waited to send ME to you...but I suppose better me than no one at all. It's all clear to me, now: I was meant to come to you and show you that you were not alone...that I understood your pain and could accept you no matter what you are. As I said, you are a beautiful, intelligent and skilled Digimon...and are no less in need of love than anyone else. Since evidently I am the one who should give love to you, I gladly accept that destiny. I have no regrets about it...and I never will."

Myotismon was so amazed, he couldn't find the will to say anything. Never before had he heard anyone say any of THIS said to him! He could hardly even believe it was happening, but it was! Here was this empathetic, compassionate teenage girl showing no sign of fear or discomfort about him...and even claiming that she LOVED him! Then it struck Myotismon like lightning: he realized Christine's claims were true! Deep in his cold, dark heart, a warm light began to shine and melt away the darkness and ice.

Christine saw Myotismon's lavender lips quiver and a tear of blood run down his face. Trembling, he threw his arms around her and held her snugly. "Oh, my child..." he wept, "Oh, poor, sweet, loving child! You were so kind to me...and look how I repaid you!" For a good amount of time, Myotismon could say nothing and only cry as he embraced Christine, who hugged him back also with tears.

Finally, Myotismon managed to look at Christine and speak. "My deepest apologies to you. I am SO sorry! Truly I am! Can you ever forgive me?" "I already have, Myotismon." Christine assured him lovingly, "I already have. I want to love you for the rest of my life, no matter what you may have done or what you are. Will you give me that chance? Please?" Myotismon smiled. "Of course I will." he answered happily, "And it is clear to me...you are right. I CAN love another...and that other is you. Who else would I find who was so...so loving and forgiving towards me...one who was so accepting of me despite the fact that I am among the Un-Dead? So let it be known...that I love you, too."

Christine smiled too. Then she softly asked, "I never told you, did I? Do you remember the night we danced in your throne room?" "Oh, I could never forget it." Myotismon answered. "You don't know how much that meant to me." Christine whispered, "It may not have been your intention to make me happy, but you did. I felt like a princess at a royal ball dancing with her prince! And those other times we spent together...I had such a wonderful time." Myotismon smiled and placed a hand on the girl's cheek. "I still recall hearing you sing...your voice still echoes in my memories. It is beautiful and has such potential. If you ever think you need some improvement...I would be delighted to help you." Christine grinned. "I'd love that." she replied. "And you say you felt like a princess..." Myotismon added, "Well...I think you deserve a higher status. Someday...I'll just have to make you my queen!" Christine giggled. "I would DEFINITELY love THAT, too!"

Then Myotismon frowned. "But we cannot do that yet." His eyes locked onto Christine's. "There is still business that I must take care of. There is no excuse for anyone like you or me...in this world nor the human world...to suffer for being different. That is why I must take more time to develop my powers. The Digital and human worlds must fall into my grasp. If they do, I can make both worlds better places...for me, for you, and for anyone who has suffered as we have. Do you understand this?"

Christine pondered all this for a while. Then she recalled something: if any "normal" people or "normal" Digimon had trouble because of Myotismon, they would have brought it down upon themselves, and it could have been prevented had they not been so judgmental. Christine looked up at her beloved. "Then do what you must." she told him, "If that is the only way to get the attention of those who are so judgmental...I say go for it." And who knew, Christine thought to herself. Maybe that WAS the only way to bring the judgmental ones to their senses.

By this time, the sun was beginning to come up and shine through the mist. "Well..." Christine sighed, "...I guess we have to part for the time being." "Yes...but this will not last forever. I cannot say exactly when...but I promise you that you will see me again. And the day will come when we can be with each other for all time." Myotismon kindly assured the girl. Christine softly giggled. Then she brushed her hair aside from her neck and asked, "Will you be perhaps needing a drink to boost your strength back up?" "Wha...truly?!" Myotismon exclaimed. Then he chuckled and asked, "You are just OFFERING me your blood?" "If it would help you recover your well-being, I'd let you drink me dry." Christine declared. Myotismon looked just a bit stunned for a second. Then he laughed. "Yes...that sounds like you, all right! Of course, hopefully it will never have to come down to that. And fortunately...that will not be required at all right now."

Christine smiled calmly as Myotismon took her in his arms and leaned over her throat. This time, she heard no sinister hissing, but she DID feel the familiar small sting. However, Christine showed no sign of fear or discomfort at all. She was very happy if this was able to help Myotismon...whom she loved.

Finishing with her shortly, Myotismon sighed contentedly. "Thank you, Christine...my Sun, Moon and Stars. I feel much better now." "Sun, Moon and Stars? That's new." Christine pointed out. "I thought I should add "sun". And the reason why is that because of you, a new outlook on life and great happiness have dawned in me like a new day." Myotismon explained. "A VERY nice outlook!" Christine replied, "And I'm glad I could make things a little better for you...my Angel of Darkness!"

Myotismon smiled...then began to gently pull Christine's face towards his. Christine began to wonder in anticipation. Was Myotismon doing what she thought he was going to do? Was this going to be that wonderful first...it WAS! The next thing Christine knew, she felt Myotismon's icy cold lips press gently against hers...he was kissing her! Overcome with joy, Christine kissed him back. And for a moment, the two lovers stood there, holding each other lovingly...and reveling in True Love's First Kiss!

No sooner did they begin to pull away, Christine heard a beeping noise coming from her Digivice. She pulled it out and looked. It was a tracking system...and someone was coming! "Rats! Somebody found us...oh, it's my family! You'd better go, Myotismon. They mustn't find you here." Myotismon nodded. "Yes...and the sun is getting higher..." Myotismon paused to summon a dark portal. Then he looked back at Christine and softly said, "Then until we meet again, my love." "I'll be waiting." Christine said with a tender smile. "Goodbye, Christine." Myotismon said gently. "Goodbye for now, Myotismon." Christine replied, and watched as Myotismon stepped into the portal and vanished without leaving a trace.

A few minutes later, the DeMarcos and Bella came running to where Christine was. "Christine?! Christine!" cried Nick. "Oh, thank the Autobots you're all right!" Erin sighed in relief. "Are you okay? Have you been hurt?!" Lois asked. "I'm fine, Mom...really, I'm fine." Christine answered. "Where's Myotismon?" Bella wanted to know.

Christine took a deep breath. She hated to lie, but she knew that this time, the life of someone she loved depended on it. "Myotismon is...dead." she managed to say, "I destroyed him with my Heraldic magic." "Wow! You're good!" Bella exclaimed. "You did the right thing, Christine." Dan told his daughter, "I know it wasn't easy, but it had to be done. We're very proud of you."


	14. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

The Digi Egg holding Angelina rested in the warm incubator as everyone watched with anticipation. "So it won't be long now?" Kari asked hopefully. "Not at all." Jijimon answered, "Soon enough, this egg will hatch and Angelina will be reborn." The others sighed in relief. "I'm SO glad!" Wizardmon said, "Christine loved Angelina so dearly. She'll be so happy to get her back!"

Christine just smiled. She was feeling rather lonely without Angelina, but she had known that this would happen. _Soon, Angelina_...she thought, _I'm waiting for you._

* * *

Brian had just finished telling one of his stories.

"Whoa, that was a neat story, Brian!" exclaimed Rex. "I'LL say!" agreed T.K., "I especially liked it when Brian and Optimus Prime fused together to become Optimus Brian! Wowie zowie!" "I just wish we'd had Optimus Brian with us to go up against Myotismon." Patamon piped up. "Well, that's okay. The Autobots WERE looking out for us. With their protection and gift of the Heraldic Arts, our dear friend Christine was able to put him down!" Brian replied.

Christine was standing nearby cuddling Angelina, who at this point was a Salamon. Christine winced at Brian's words and hoped that none of the Autobots would get angry with him for saying something that wasn't true about them. She knew that some of the Autobots were more on the patient and forgiving side, but others had a very strong sense of justice.

* * *

One day, the DigiDestined and any family members of theirs were told that they could go home. "We have had a LOT of success in our peacekeeping mission, so there's really no need to make any of you stay here any longer." Wizardmon explained. "But we don't want any of you to worry. If we are certain that we require your aid again, we will bring you back." Jijimon added.

So the Digimon Tamers and their Digimon partners exchanged hugs and goodbyes with each other. "Thanks for everything, Rex." Brian said to his Agumon, "You've been a real pal!" "Don't mention it, Brian. You're my best friend!" Rex smiled.

"I love you, my little Angelina." Christine said affectionately, hugging her little Digimon who by this point had turned back into a Gatomon. "I love you, Christine! And...I'm not very sad. I have a good feeling that we'll get to be with each other again." said Angelina. Christine thought for a bit, then said "Ya know what?...I feel the same way."

As soon as everyone had exchanged their goodbyes, Jijimon and Wizardmon opened up a glowing purple portal that would send everyone back to where they belonged in the human world. Just before entering the portal, Christine turned to take one last look at the Digital World. She was feeling rather sad, because she hadn't gotten to say goodbye to a very special Digimon...a Digimon whom she loved dearly.

Just then, she saw what looked like the shape of a great bat flying across the moon. Seeing this, Christine felt better and smiled. _Goodbye for now, Myotismon...my love. Someday, I will see you again._ she thought.

* * *

Alone in the darkness of the Realm of the Condemned, Myotismon concentrated hard...focusing deeply, taking in the darkness, becoming more and more at one with it. His powers were developing more and more. He could feel it...and the thoughts of Christine and being with her forever kept him going.

Eventually, he would be unstoppable. First the Digital World would fall into his hands, and the human world would follow. Then he would make both worlds better not only for himself, but for those who had suffered as he had...especially his beloved Christine, the only one who had ever loved him. And even better for her, Myotismon would make her his bride and she would reign beside him as his queen. And would they live happily ever after? Of course they would!

It was all just a matter of time...


End file.
